


Soulm8tes

by ASadFatDragon



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Awkward Dates, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Tension, Bad Puns, Be Careful What You Wish For, Best Friends, Brotherly Love, Crushes, Dorks in Love, Drunken Shenanigans, Eventual Romance, Eventual soulmates to come, Every character belongs to their rightful owner, F/M, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, First Love, First Time, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Gaster Dads, Getting to Know Each Other, Good Intentions, Human/Monster Romance, Human/Monster Society, I'm doing this instead of doing homework, Idiots in Love, Implied Relationships, Jealous Skeletons, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Multi, Oh boy not the tags, Or a bad one, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Romance, Platonic Soulmates, Reader Is In College, Reader has multiple soulmates, Reader hates it, Reader is adorable, Reader is asexual, Reader is genderfluid, Reader tries to be badass, Romantic Gestures, Sensual Attraction, Skeletons dont know what boundaries are, Slow Build, So let me get this over with, So many soulmate AU's, Supportive and Overprotective Skeletons, Tags are always the hardest part, Tags to be added or fixed, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, Undertale Skeletons in Heat, Undertale doesnt belong to me, a lot of foreshadowing, clingy skeletons, cute stuff, flirty skeletons, how fun, one-sided sexual attraction, reader is in for a good time, reader is sarcastic, reader is stubborn, so much bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-02-22 14:49:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22851208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASadFatDragon/pseuds/ASadFatDragon
Summary: In a universe filled with so many possibilities, you come to realize that life hates you, and your only chance of getting out of it alive, is to accept fate, and just roll with the punches. However, with that in mind, you thought having a soulmate was for suckers, and refused to give in to the scam. But as previously mentioned, the universe hates you, so why not have more than one soulmate, they said.(Just a bunch of soulmate au's I've thrown together. This is supposed to be fun.)
Relationships: Papyrus (Swapfell/Reader, Papyrus (Underswap)/Reader, Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Papyrus (underfell)/reader, Reader/Everyone, Sans (Swapfell)/Reader, Sans (Underfell)/Reader, Sans (Underswap)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 42
Kudos: 221





	1. Who Can It Be?

**Author's Note:**

> So you clicked on this, why would you do that? LOL. 
> 
> Thank you <3
> 
> note: I’m constantly going back to earlier chapters to edit, and if everything runs smoothly, I’ll post weekly.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try to figure out why the hell your soulmate bothers you so much as you practically vent it all out.

Soulmates.

It's a beautiful concept.

Defined as a person ideally suited to another as a close friend, a romantic partner, or a family member.

Just picture it, the merging of souls, a connection of minds, and an unconditional love that's just for both soulmates to explore, share, and hold.

Of course, with the implication of an exclusive, lifelong bond. 

Which meant, forever.

Lasting, permanent, and continuing.

Yeah, you'll pass on that.

All the hype over soulmates is ridiculous.

Everyone grows up with the SAME thought in mind that they NEED to find their soulmate. The process begins from the moment our heart skips its first beat, and persists to our first breathe of air. It's one of the very earliest things taught to us, alongside our alphabet and numbers, and being children, to be able to retain it so easily, they tell it to us through a story. A folktale designed to fabricate an idealized portrayal of the truth. They take advantage of our innocence, and hypnotize us into a vulnerable state of mind, that our souls are drawn together for the reason of fulfilling a specific mission. Therefore souls are meant to unite. That is, and the only reason why they exist, and we are expected to accept that. The short story translates that we weren't born alone, we had a conjoined soul, and the god of the sky not only disapproved, but lived in fear of it. However, humanity wasn't as pure. Humans lived in sin, and free to end both his distress and disgust, he split the two into separate parts as punishment. Sentencing them to look for their other halves to exhaustion for another chance at heaven. Figuratively speaking. You should be grateful for having a soulmate. It's written to be the strongest bond one can successfully reach, and as you can imagine, everyone goes their entire lives searching.

Picture it, that kind of patience and dedication? It seemed sort of desperate, and such a waste of one's time, don't you think?

It works spontaneously. Not in your favor.

The reality of it states you can't really know if you have a soulmate unless you've experienced what everyone calls a, "soulmate connection." So when, and if someone meets their soulmate, they should completely hand themselves over. Do whatever they possibly can to not lose out on such a rare opportunity, and like a chain reaction, though it can take mere seconds, many months, or even years, soulmates always ended up together. ALWAYS. It didn't matter what type or in what form. Destiny, was a cruel mistress that never failed. 

Once you've been revealed to your counterpart, it would become rather difficult to ignore the impulse of both souls wanting to advance, making it almost impossible for any attempt of escape, and that is why this was a door you would not open. Screw Destiny. She plays a huge part in all this, but if you could try and avoid it for just a little longer, even if it isn't easy, you wont become one of her sheep.

What sucks even more is that they've all become brainwashed and are fully aware of it! Like hell you'll have any part in it.

Everyone's lost touch with reality. How can society paint it as the only goal to strive for, you were not having it! Having to go your whole life practically living for someone you didn't know, just because they were your soulmate? How annoying. That's not why you were born. Well.....not like you asked to be, but since you were, it sure as damn well isn't for the satisfaction of someone else!

Not like you tried very hard to follow the customs of your culture. You even decided that maybe it's best if you didn't have a soulmate. I mean, it's possible. Some people stay single for the duration of their life, and they seem to be pleased with it when they pass. 

For the other half, not so much.

You heard stories of how some grow so old without realizing it that they fall into a great despair, and feeling the loss of time, and regret for not having done something about it sooner, they die heartbroken, and alone.

Pretty devastating, huh? 

Well, that's exactly how you wanted to go!

"Did you even sleep last night?" This was your best friend speaking. "You look dead." One of your best friends.

Your left cheek pressed against a cold wooden table, you must have fallen asleep. Opening your eyes as best as you could, you looked at him, and scanned your surroundings. Everything was a little blurry, but the noise of other students talking among themselves told you exactly what you needed to know. You were in the library. "I'm very tired," You closed your eyes again. Your drowsy self couldn't keep them open for too long. "..and I'm not feeling right." You felt your body wanting to get sucked back into a nap. "I think, I fell asleep around 12, and woke up at four this morning?"

If having a soulmate isn't enough of a struggle, add insomnia to that.

"You think?" He closed the book he was reading to startle you, but it didn't work. You just heard the thing slam and internally groaned. Not because it was loud, but because you just remembered why you were there in the first place. "That's terrible y/n!" It was actually your chapter book for your Chemistry class. The two of you were reviewing the first few chapters to try and get ahead of the course, but underestimated how tired you were, and took a nap instead. While you snoozed off, he grabbed the book from right under you and went over it himself. When you did awake, the realization of not being home but at school made your heart sink. You hated being here. "Is it the nightmares?"

You cringed. You wouldn't necessarily call them nightmares. "Sure. Something like that." But whatever the hell they may be, they were a huge part to why you never got a good nights sleep.

You see, monsters and humans have lived on the surface for quite some years now, for all your life really, and with them, they brought magic. There are different stories telling of how Monsters used to be underground so long ago. How they were locked away to live in seclusion by our ancestors, horrible stuff honestly, history books do it no justice, but apparently, not only monsters carried magic. Each human had some individually, and with what little they had, it presented to them their soulmates. Which brought a lot of mixed feelings you would rather not get too caught up in at the moment.

If it weren't for the monsters all those years ago, the idea of soulmates would have never been considered to be taken seriously. 

W h y d i d t h e y h a v e t o r e s u r f a c e? 

_(Sour puss)_

It's like you were born to suffer.

We're already entering a new decade and this is the era you're living in?

Sure, it sounds cool. Having some sort of magic within you, being able to live among monsters, having a soulmate, well, it's complete bullshit! Things were simpler before all this. Not to say perfect, but everyone had a mind of their own. No one had to learn or follow strict rules and stupid practices. It feels like you're living in a simulation, and everyone's crazed about it. Your parents are crazy about it, your friends are even crazier, and it's driving you nuts! Literally insane, why? 

Because of YOUR so called soulmate.

They tried so hard to ruin your life, and you had to give it to them, they were succeeding!

On second thought, looks like you're getting into it.

You don't want to speak ill of how any of it works either, really, it's a religion, and cursing a deity will probably lead to some consequences. Look at what happened to those poor bastards in the story, and come on, the beef you have with the universe? The links that tie you to your soulmate must be the worlds only availability at inflicting pain, and misery on you every step of the way, but we'll get more into that later.

Destiny is powerful enough to bring two soulmates together, you have no doubt that's true. You've seen it happen. You're living proof that it works, but it shouldn't be that simple. The Universe is what creates the space for the encounter, therefore it is up to the two individual soulmates to do something with that bond.

That is where Destiny has to take a back seat, and let you get behind the wheel. 

Even if everyone's convinced that denying or rejecting your soulmate can lead to a end worse than death. They're a pain in the ass anyway. Nothing can be worse than that. 

_(Give them a break)_

A break?

An image of your soulmate popped up in your head, and your face scrunched up.

As if.

Monsters and humans being soulmates wasn't rare either.

Over the years it started to seem normal. You couldn't control who you ended up with, so for it to upset anyone seemed stupid, and unsurprisingly these couples were never really chosen to be publicized. Unlike now, where monster and human relations have become a lot more accepted and open than before. 

Steer clear of it. 

The world isn't ever just black and white. Things are complicated. You get that other shades exist too, and finding a middle ground, you try to balance never just being blue, or red, but purple.

Do you understand what i'm saying?

_(Not really)_

Well, It sounded way cooler in your head. You went pretty deep there.

_(Coolers not a word)_

See what i mean? Complicated. You're a mess. Don't act so surprised. You're often at war with your thoughts. You reasonably live inside your head then the outside world.

_(Wonder how you made it this far)_

You have no clue, but you sure as hell weren't going to let the chatter in your head get this out of hand so early in the day.

'How about you kiss my a-'

"Whoa, chill." Evan reached over to pat you on the head. You panicked. Did you say that out loud? "What's with the face? Are they that bad?" They? You were confused. Could he hear your thoughts?! "You haven't really caught me up with the nightmares. They can't be that bad." Oh, right, the dreams. You swatted his head. What else would he be referring to?

You relaxed the muscles around your cheeks, you weren't even aware that you had been making a face. You must be very exhausted to be dozing off like this, and expressing yourself so transparently too? "Is it still about those spooky, and scary skeletons?" You opened your eyes to toss him a glare. It took everything within you to be able to do it. Your body seriously wanted to crash. "Maybe you should look that up? See why you've been dreaming about them." 

Search it up? Would the oh-so-valuable-and-resourceful-internet help you with this? 

It hasn't let you down before.

"Here, i'll do it for you." He pulled out his phone, and pressed his thumb against the home button to unlock it. "Watch it say it's because of stress." I'd believe it. Skeletons do stress you out. Or better, they overwhelm you. Think about all those times you fawned over animated ones. You blushed a little. There's no way the internet is going to give him a straight enough answer. Evan's so stupid to believe stuff like that. It's all just superstitions anyways. There's just no way. "I found something!" He looked so proud of himself, when you're sure all he had done was type into his search engine, "dreams involving skeletons", and clicked on the first link he saw. However, you listened in to what he had to say. "It says, and i quote," You sighed annoyingly. "To dream of a skeleton represents feelings about something in your life that has been totally stripped of all power, vitality, or importance." Um, wow. That's a little deep? Stripped of all power? You can't really feel that way? "You or something in your life has experienced complete change, and.." And what? Get on with it! He puckered his lips as he raised his eyebrows seductively at you now that he had your full attention. You looked away and scoffed. As if you'll let Evan know you secretly are into this kind of stuff and genuinely wanted him to continue. "Feelings about a person, situation, or some area of your life feels like there is nothing left." What the hell. What does that even mean? "You must feel mentally, emotionally, or spiritually 'stripped to the bone'." 

Ah. There it is. 

That's why he got so cocky.

You weren't impressed.

"Oh come on, that was pretty good!" He broke out in short laughs.

Of course he'd ruin the moment. "You're an idiot." You spat.

"I didn't even come up with that! It's right here on the page!!" No it wasn't, but if it was, he had you in the first half. "See!" He turned the screen over to you, but you refused to look. If someone went as far as to add that in, you can't possibly think to take something with a pun serious? "Aw, come on! I know that look. You want to laugh!" This wasn't a joke.

"Well, at least don't disregard what i said before." That's exactly what you were going to do. "It sounds important. You feel like you're losing control. Afraid of what might change, and you don't want to go through it alone." What? Where the hell is he getting that from?? "Or, you know, something like that?" He gave you a smile to reassure you, but you didn't take it. 

Evan's no genius, but he might be on to something.

'For the love of God', you screamed in your head. Face-planting back on the desk. Your dreams were tricky. They can't be deciphered so fast and effortlessly. You knew already what they were, but, all that stuff he said, could he have a point to any of it?

Look, skeleton monsters, they exist, and as much as you wanted to play the role that you didn't care, monsters did fascinate you. You wanted to know, and learn everything about them. With reason of course, but their magic, the very thing you despise, is what began this journey for knowledge. You never got to see it in person, not because there was a huge restriction on it or anything, but because you just failed to make some monster friends growing up. It's shown to you on television shows and movies, ads, videos, literally anywhere you could think of, but with great power comes great responsibility, and what not. Monsters did have to follow a set of rules. They weren't allowed to use their magic in public, on humans, or to defend themselves. Unless! They had permission to do so. Using it all willy-nilly i guess was too op. It's understandable that restrictions had to be put up, but, it just seems a little unfair?

How long has it been? Since 1985, and humans still act childish around monsters?

You're actually very passionate about this.

On a highly-caffeinated and stressful night, when you were supposed to be finishing up your English paper, you browsed Youtube for some song to play in the background, and failing to find anything that put you in the mood to do so, you stumbled on a video of monster kids recording themselves opening chocolate eggs. You don't know why you clicked on it, but the suggested videos after kept being monster related, and you watched every single one. After that, your midnight research turned into skimming through pages and pages of facts, information, and ideas about monsters. The internet never disappoints, but you really should have been focusing on global warming. It was really crucial for your grade.

'If only you could put that same enthusiasm into school', you hear your dad say.

You learned about this thing called encounters, and how if you were pulled into one, you had the options between fighting, acting, choosing an item, or refusing to attack, which they called mercy. To end one, however, one must be either killed or spared, since fleeing didn't always promise an end to the battle.

'How terrifying it would be to fight a monster', you thought.

_(You'll never find yourself in that situation)_

Yeah but, It didn't stop you from looking further on the web for their different attack tactics.

Cause, you know, just in case.

The subreddit you found had listed; white attacks could hurt you if you don't dodge on time, green attacks heal you, whereas red attacks warn you, blue attacks did no damage if you remain still, and orange attacks were the opposite, you had to stay moving.

That's crazy. How does someone even discover this? Don't tell me humans are stupid enough to provoke a monster to find out?

This feels like a breach of privacy, but the government does something similar, and it's totally legal. It keeps records of whenever a new monster is born. They have to request a monster registry form from their local city hall, and state what type of monster they are, and what type of power they possess. What if that kind of personal information leaked out? Would it be illegal then? Waiting for the wrong person to get their hands on it, and then it's too late? Especially since these kind of details were found without much effort. It didn't sit right with you, but you get it.

Its so humans could feel safe.

Monsters didn't scare you, and with the concept of death already on the table, it didn't bother you either. Your view on it was you were either buried underground for the warms to eat, or burned to ashes.

Worm food, or dust.

_(Same old. Same old.)_

What you slowly discovered was a common theme surrounding the monsters.

Souls were very important. It allows them to engage. Gives them humanity, and strength. It makes up their entire existence, and yet, you fail to understand how human souls are said to be more powerful than that of a monsters? They're the compassionate ones. The ones who introduced a new style of love to the world.

Did they maybe do a good thing?

You don't know much about a monsters soul, and whether it worked similar to that of a humans, but monsters are the ones who were too powerful.

Human souls came in seven main colors, but what were they again? Light blue for patience, orange for bravery, blue for integrity, purple for perseverance, green for kindness, yellow for justice, and red for determination?

_(You've got a great memory)_

You considered it worked like soulmates. That you were either born already assigned with a color, or picked up on one as you developed. It's to represent your personality type. A part of your identity. You wondered what color your soul is. If anything, it had to be light blue. For all the shit you have to deal with on a daily basis, you must be hella patient. Would you ever get to know? Was it even possible to see your own soul?

You imagine it for a moment.

They don't teach you this sort of stuff in grade school, but be proud of yourself for what you do know. I'm sure you're impressing some monsters out there.

It's not your fault that it's so cool. Souls sound so magnificent....and considerably fragile....to have something so complex like that living inside you....

You wish you could find out more, but that's selfish ain't it? You can't even stand your other half. As you've stated countless times, you didn't like everything about souls. Your soul had a mate, and they can be dead for all you care.

"It's great you're getting a laugh out of my suffering, Evan. At least someones having a good time." You eyed him tiredly, and he shrugged it off. "Relax, y/n. I'm only teasing."

Right.

It started back in the first grade, but you wont catch on till the third grade. You began to see signs that you definitely had a soulmate, and you did your best to ignore it. Concealing it from your probing friends and family as best as you could. You knew the moment someone knew they were going to make a big fuss, so you kept it a secret. 

You didn't care. So they shouldn't either.

Recall the "soulmate connection" mentioned earlier, and how the universe loves to spoil you with torment? Soulmates came in many packages, meaning you were able to tell by alternative approaches, and every human underwent ONE. Sometimes it could be two, but it was rare. So rare you couldn't possibly be one of the lucky ones, right? Ha ha.

You poor fool.

A way to discover who could be your soulmate was by dreaming. It's the first one you experienced, and in the beginning you took them to be nightmares, but you weren't scared of them. After a few, you managed to understand what the pattern was implying, and your life became a very oppressed, and unbearable place to live in.

When you slept, you saw random memories, and for some reason you'd see a skeletal figure living their best darn life from the looks of it.

Must be nice.

You didn't like what the dreams did to you.

Every time you awakened after those specifically, you could feel your soul ecstatically bounce around, aching to get closer, and it left you breathless and hot. So you chose to withdraw sleep. It's sort of working out? You can't recall when was the last time you had a dream about him.

The thing about dreams though, they were sketchy. You had to be sure you remembered them right. So to not forget, you had sketched out the face you'd see, and came up with;

"I think my soulmate might be a monster."

You thought about that for a while.

A very l o n g while.

"Yo! Deadass?" Fuuuuuuuuuuuck. Did you just tell Evan? That's not going to work out in your favor. "That's so sick!" His voice raised a few pitches, and the students close by gave you odd looks. You just smiled uneasily as an apology. "Imagine that! A monster, I'm so jealous." It's not really that big of a deal. "I heard monsters are wicked at sex," I- "They're like, really into soul bonding. I hear that's fun."

He's not wrong, humans couldn't bond as closely as monsters did.

Why the hell did he know that?

You didn't even know that!

_(Yes you did)_

You turned your head sideways to avoid staring at him. How dare he put that back in your head! You weren't even supposed to know, it was an accident! "Evan, you're a pervert." You sat up straight. Focusing your breathing so your cheeks wouldn't turn pink out of shame. "Like seriously, if you're that excited about it. You can have them." Stretching and aiming to crack your back in the process. You heard a unsettling sound come from your spine and knew you had accomplished your goal. Turning to your phone you flipped it over to check the time. There was still two hours till your next class. You put it face down again, sighing.

You're going to have a long day.

"And steal your soulmate?" He snickered. "Uh, no thanks. That's pretty lame." The two of you made eye contact. He grinned. "Besides, I got my own mate to find."

You looked at him for a while before replying, considering something. "You know you're with me all the time. I'm pretty sure they think you're my boyfriend."

His face turned into pure disgust. He didn't know why you said it exactly, but it made sense. Evan was surely in the majority of your memories. Maybe your soulmate thinks the same way, and out of seeing how happy you are without him, he's the one that dies of a broken heart? "Forget about it! I'm out of your league." You nod to get him to shut up but he continues. "I mean, look at you. A sweatshirt and some joggers?" He was only being playful, but you pouted regardless.

And here you were being nice.

"It's comfortable," You hid your arms in your sleeves, and slid them into each other. Looking like one of those villagers from Minecraft. "...and it gets cold."

"It's not my fault your soulmate lives in China." He said suddenly.

"I never said it was!" Now it was your turn to be shushed. You felt your skin instantly heat up from embarrassment.

At least you're warm.

That's another soulmate connection, and you hated this one the most. It went something like this, the more distance between the two of you the colder you were, and the closer, the warmer you felt.

Did your soulmate seriously live at the other end of the world?

How rude. Do they not care about you or your health?

You hoped they were freezing just as bad, because it wasn't uncommon to see you in many layers.

"I hate this." You weren't lying.

To try to make sense of it, even from a young age, you asked your parents how did it work out for them? What was it that they saw, heard, or felt? How did they know they weren't mistaken? It didn't help your case at all, for crying out loud, you were just a kid! Who did Destiny think she was arranging you with someone at age five? You were supposed to be focusing on learning how to read and coloring within the lines. Not feeling your hormones shift all over the place because of your soulmate.

Disgusting.

To this day, you have yet to have your first kiss. It wasn't like you were saving yourself for your soulmate, or being loyal or whatever, but people did take that seriously. Obviously you didn't, but you never could find someone to invest your time in. You tried the dating game, had your share of crushes, but it all felt hopeless. You never felt the sparks.

You're getting side-tracked again, get back to the point about your parents, they told you that they knew the moment they're souls were beaming through their chests. Some cheesy way to know when you had found your soulmate, and when they passed each other on the sidewalk, they noticed how bright their souls exploded in color. So bright that they practically complain about it from time to time, which you can't see! You wish you could, because that sounds pretty awesome, but it only presented itself to the two that shared it, and apparently, when one was deeply sad or super happy, it alerted the other on what to do next.

How corny is that?

"I wish I didn't have a soulmate." Great for other people, but boo for you. "It's too much work."

So now you're constantly cold, constantly dreaming about monsters, and oh! Sharing each other's pain.

Oh yeah. It gets better.

The worst injuries you've ever gotten was a broken arm and a fractured rib. You'll find the occasional cuts, and marks scattered around your body, and rarely, you'll bleed from said wounds.

Your sixth grade was awful. Teachers assumed you were getting in fights with someone at school, but since you refused to tell them where they were truly from, you accepted the detention and disciplining. When you got a little older it just gave you more of a reason to throw yourself into brawls because you got in trouble for it anyways! Your parents just thought you were being a rowdy kid and getting hurt from rough and tumble play, and because of that, other students avoided you. Didn't stop the way they treated you though.

Luckily, you had your good and caring friends already by your side, and they will continue to be.

It hasn't been too bad lately. You'll still get bruises and sore limbs, and funny story, it can't get worse then what you went through recently in your speech class last semester.

It was your turn to deliver your persuasive speech about donating blood, and as you stood in the front of the class and reached your conclusion, your nose started to bleed.

You felt like you had been punched in the face as the entire class screamed.

Why were they so loud?

Blood isn't that scary.

Or, were they screaming at the thought of getting punctured by needles?

Oh! Who the hell was your soulmate anyway?

If they were a monster then how did they manage to get hurt constantly?? Weren't they like, super pacifist? Maybe you're sort of thankful it isn't a human, because than you wouldn't have healed as quickly as you did.

It was still shit you didn't need to put up with.

*Message Alert*

Shit they didn't need to put up with.

There was this link between soulmates drawing or writing on their skin, and seconds after It'll appear on the other too, and your soulmate made the most use out of it.

This didn't pop up until the middle of seventh grade. You were changing in the p.e locker rooms when you spotted black ink splattered on your left arm, only a small patch of clean skin was visible in the middle. There were doodles of stars, and hearts, and you flushed red. You remember pressing your arm against your chest, frantically looking around to check if anyone had seen it and rushed over to the bathroom to wash it off. Scrubbing at it only irritated your skin, it wasn't going to come off, and you had to accept defeat. This again, was the work of your oh so, precious soulmate.

What were you going to do?

If you were lucky, you got away with it pretty easily. It's a mission to keep it out of sight. Especially on their bad days. You clearly saw they were hurting with how they expressed themselves through the words they decided to have tagged over your skin.

**(Stupid)**

**(Good-for-nothing)**

**(Freak)**

Did they not know you would see it?

**(Coward)**

They better not be talking about you.

You knew what it felt like to be called harsh names. People used to call you offensive slurs to upset you, but you knew yourself better than anyone, and you didn't need them to understand anything, because as long as you were comfortable, that was all that mattered. A part of you wanted to tell them it was okay, and that they were okay, but you were going through your own things at the time, and you weren't sure how much help you'd be anyway. You haven't even opened up with yourself. Not entirely. There's still so much you need to know, but in due time.

b e p a t i e n t w i t h y o u r s e l f

So what if you never responded, and you regularly wore long sleeves to hide the evidence. Middle school was just a really odd time for you. Dressing wasn't the issue. You were cloaked and cozy. So why you still got labeled as the "weirdo punk" who got in trouble all the time and had no sense of style beats me. You either dressed in baggy grunge clothes or cute pastel layers. Starting as a kid you wore your dads over-sized band shirts and beanies. When mom wanted to dress you she put you in skirts and bows. That's whats so great about growing up, cause eventually you get to dress yourself, and the older you got the more assertive you were. Don't know how you did it, but you got permission to getting both your lips and eyebrows pierced in 11th grade. It was a huge "fuck you" to your school's dress code, and to everyone who looked at you funny.

It brought a lot of unwanted attention, but thankfully no one bothered to talk to you. You got killer vibes, but killer anxiety too. You were introverted and extroverted. Depends on your mood and social energy.

Evan liked to cling to you no matter what.

You two were as close as bottles to their caps. Wherever he went you went, and wherever you went he went.

Maybe you two shouldn't have classes together anymore?

He told you a few days ago how the most popular preference to finding your soulmate was the Red string of fate. An attachable and unbreakable red thread that tied itself to you and your soulmate. It appears wrapped around some part of your body, and gladly, you haven't gone through this one yet.

Which only meant your soulmate hasn't been in distance with you in forever,

and it's going to stay that way.

He brought it up because of an incident that involved two boys hooking up from his calculus class. They got together right in front of everyone, shouting how they finally found each other and they weren't going to let go.

How embarrassing. You'd die if it happened in class.

"Well, not like you have a choice." You focused your attention back to Evan, lowering your brows as you thought about what he had just said. You got lost in thought again. "You've also been getting messages, I think you should see who it is."

Ah, perfect save!

Picking up your phone, you turned the screen towards you and unlocked it.

nOt LiKe YoU hAvE a ChOiCe-OF COURSE YOU HAVE A CHOICE!

Who was going to test you? Destiny? Unlikely. 

It's already been a easy-breezy, lemon-squeezey, 20 years, what are the odds of meeting your soulmate anytime soon? Highly, unlikely.

Since you were getting deep into the whole soulmate dilemma for some reason, might as well bring up the episode from back in high school. You and your soulmate were also able to communicate with thoughts. Not all the time, but when you both wanted to allow it, you could hear what they were thinking. Like for instance, their concerns and desires.

You were a freshmen. So young and naive, getting ready to take a test for biology you didn't prepare for, and you were panicking. You kept rereading the questions in your head to somehow dig up some information you knew very well you had somewhere, but it was looking like you studied right before class for nothing.

You got so desperate that you begged to an unknown force in the world.

Preferably God.

And it, worked?

You were getting answers, and as much as you felt your skin crawl, you listened to it.

This would be the first and last time you communicated with your soulmate through thoughts.

They, however, loved trying to get in your head.

But they mostly thought about money, and, you weren't sure what to think of that?

"If I don't die of hypothermia, I'm definitely going to kill myself." The only one who knows about all this is Evan, besides that, no ones even aware you have a soulmate.

You lie to everyone who asks.

Wait, if you killed yourself, would that mean your soulmate would die also?

Would it be labeled a "murder-suicide?"

Evan frowned, "That's terrible." His eyes were full of concern. "You'll really leave your soulmate like that? Without ever having met you?" He questioned you.

You didn't know how to respond. 

Geez, sensitive much? 

"That's a real douche move."

"Whatever." You were seriously drained. Why did your soulmate have to be so fucking annoying?

You just wished to be alone.

_(Well tough luck)_

Opening up the messages, you saw your best friend Lexi had texted you about a party coming up. It's her birthday, and she's thrilled to throw one. It's been a while since the gangs been together and she took this as the opportunity to get everyone in the same place.

She sent you an invitation, and added, "Please don't back out, I'll seriously cry." You smiled.

"Who was it?" You looked at Evan and smirked. Now it's your turn to tease. "What? You haven't gotten an invitation yet?" You crossed your arms and rested your head back down on the table. "Huh, maybe you're not Invited."

He gasped, "No! Lexi sent them out already?" Lexi's the mother of the so-called group you had. She's turning 22, and you couldn't be more happy to spend some time with her. She's the sister you wish you had. Wonder what she's been up to. "That blonde bimbo." You're going to kill him. "I'mma call her!" He checked his phone, and anger turned into worry. He smiled nervously. "Oh, just kidding. I got it." The idiots phone was on silent.

You frowned at him. "I'm going to tell her what you said."

He eyed you challenging. "You wouldn't."

You replaced your frown with a smile, accepting the challenge. "I would."

"Then do it."

You waited a few seconds before responding, pausing for dramatic effect. "Okay." You grabbed your phone and brought it to your face.

"N-no! Wait!" He lunged forward, trying to pull the phone away as you struggled to keep it in your grasp. "Asshole, let go!" you shouted.

Would you ever meet your soulmate, like seriously?

"No don't tell her! I'm sorry!!"

You don't know how this will work out and you're very anxious about it, but you hope it'll never come to that.

'Come on universe, for once, throw your gal a bone', you pleaded.

Before you throw yours from taring your limbs apart.

Destiny had a ending already planned out for you. She just had to make sure you went the right route. Even if you were stubborn about it, Destiny and the Universe, were in cahoots.

"If you two don't settle down you're going to have to take this outside."

"Piss off!" You both yelled.

You and Evan were banned from the schools library for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's all fun and games until the next chapter!
> 
> Let's get ready to rock 'n roll.


	2. Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to a party, and are forced to do something you don't want to do. You already saw this coming.

It took a while but you finally finished with your masterpiece.

"Wow, you're looking pretty good."

Your masterpiece being what you finally decided to wear to the party.

Slouchy mom jeans snugged above your waist, a black floral print shirt, and an adorable flower crown. The shirt happened to be short-sleeved, but if it got too cold for you, then you could always steal a hoodie from your friend. There was no way you were going to hide this awesome look, and besides, it was a nice change.

Since the new semester started all you've been wearing is over-sized hoodies and sweatpants. Wheres the pizazz?

Mom volunteered to straighten your hair too. Doing it yourself always made you tired. You had a lot of it, and she always managed to do a better job. Brushing was even more of a hassle. Can't wait for the day you chop it all off. 

Again, a nice change from the usual messy buns hidden underneath hats.

You had just finished filling in your eyebrows and decided on putting any more makeup, but abandoned the idea. It seems the recent purchased eye shadow palette that hid in your closet could wait a few more days. You weren’t necessarily the best at makeup, but you were learning, self-taught actually, and you loved how colorful you could get. Living beings were so beautiful, weren’t they? They had such creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty and emotional power.

(Someones in a good mood)

You finger gunned at the pretty human in front of you. "You're looking like a whole snack." Oh yeah, you were in a good mood. You finally had a weekend to enjoy yourself, no homework, and no upcoming quiz or exam to study for. You were also going to hang out with your group of friends, and you couldn't wait to show them how fly you looked. You were definitely going to get some compliments. "No one can touch this." Hyping yourself up was a daily dose of self-prescribed medicine you made sure to follow through with every second of your life. If someone tried dragging you down, you knew that meant you intimated them with your coolness. You gave yourself a turn, slowly getting into this weird dance thing you do whenever you spot yourself in a mirror. 

"Is that my shirt?" You flinched. "I could've sworn I told you not to go through my things anymore." You shifted to look at the sudden stranger trespassing in your personal space. Standing by your doorway, he held a bowl of what looked like Frosted Flakes, munching away at it as he chewed loudly. You were certain you had closed and locked the door.

How long was he standing there for? "It is, so what? You weren't using it." What a weirdo, was he just watching you the whole time?

He engulfed another spoonful, choosing to talk with his mouth full. "How can I? When you're wearing it." There was a hint of cheek to his tone. How bold of him, you'll only be sassy back. "Oh, you were gonna put it on today?" He continued to argue as he chewed. "No, but now I won't have the option to." You smirked, he doesn't expect you to take him seriously, does he? What a child, but before you could call him out on his nasty habit, your mom called from downstairs.

"Y/n! Oscars outside!"

You gasped, startled that time had gone so fast. "Damn, they're here already? I gotta go!" You shot over to your bed and sat yourself down, quickly trying to put on your f/c converse.

Your brother now had stepped in, standing right in front of you. He leaned down as to see what you were doing when in all honesty, tying your shoes was nothing fascinating. "Where you going? On a date?"

Yeah right.

He was three years younger than you, but if no one knew that fact, they'd think he was your twin.

Your head hung low as you did the laces in a tight knot. "Over to Lexi's, it's her birthday." After you finished with your shoes, you went to fold the bottom of your pants, stopping a few inches above your ankle. "I shouldn't be out too long. I promise I'll take real good care of your shirt." You stood back up rapidly, ignoring how close your brother had gotten.

"Ow!"

The back of your head bumped into his chin.

You wanted to yell at him. "Dammit, Tucker." You pressed a palm against your throbbing scalp. Why was he standing so close to you in the first place?! "My bad." He whined, massaging the part you hit. "Tell her I said happy birthday." You made a first with both hands and sighed. "Sure thing."

It’s okay, you still got this, today’s going to be awesome, just relax, nothing could ruin it. 

Nothing!

x - x - x

"Did the campus police get involved?"

You chuckled. "No, why would they?" You pointed with the tip of your glass at the boy who was sitting across from you. "We weren't making that much of a fuss." You and your friends were sitting in a circle in the center of Lexi's room, going back n' forth on what's been happening to try and catch each other up. Somehow, Wednesday's humiliating event became the focus of attention. "I even went back the next day to print out an article, and the ladies behind the desk kept glaring at me."

Lexi rolled her eyes, pressing her bottle of Modelo against her cheek to absorb the cool of it. "See, that's why you can't go anywhere with Evan." She sighed but carried a huge grin. "He's obnoxious." 

"I am not!" Evan was already on his feet, wobbling over to you, and you kept your gaze on him firmly. "They've just never seen a lovers quarrel before. It was too much for them." He dropped down to your side and slung an arm around you, bringing the two of you closer, and you cringed. "Isn't that right, Cookie?" He rubbed his cheek on yours, and you fumed. The group had also become intoxicated, particularly Evan, which explains why he continued to be very annoying, and dare try to push your buttons.

"Uh-oh..." Oscar responded for you in his monotone voice, as your other male friend giggled, "You're in trouble."

You ignored their mockery of it and unhooked the arm that was around you. "Aw, don't be like that cookie!" He hugged you tightly, muttering in your ear, "You shouldn't be ashamed to show them how much you love me." 

Bastard. Pulling your arm from within his grasp, you tried making some space, but he resisted.

Okay, this was a bit much, even if he was drunk. Evan had already finished his sixth bottle and to everyone’s protest, was wrapping up on his seventh one. You, however, currently started on your 2nd bottle of beer, and because it wasn't as strong as other heavy liquor, you weren't too far gone, but you weren't the type to drink anyways. You just kept washing it down with water and juice. Hoping it wouldn’t get to you as bad. You’ve actually never touched the stuff before, and after today, you weren’t going to again. Your friends were old enough to drink and buy their own alcohol, but you still had a few months, and that sort of scared you, because you were growing, and that was uncomfortable, but good news! It’s uncomfortable, but you’re growing!

I guess being the youngest of the group had some limitations, but you didn’t let it stop you, it was a party after all.

Why not live a little? Since, you’ve clearly haven’t been doing that much lately.

But going back to Evan, you know how there are different types of drunks? Well, Evan was the clingy drunk.

Actually, that’s a bit of an understatement, he was always clingy.

You chuckled, and you heard him gulp, but instead of move away even the slightest bit, he stayed still. "What did I say-" You grabbed his face, "-about touching me," and shoved him back forcefully. "Martinez!"

Evans's body hit the floor, and your friends laughed.

The nerve of this guy.

You didn't like to be touched, everyone who knew you understood that. You kept your hands to yourself and hoped for the same in return. Not that you didn't enjoy affection or comfort every so often, but you only accepted it from your family and close friends. You appreciated it when they asked you for permission, but when they would slip up, you never gave them an issue about it, and they did a lot. Nevertheless, their touches were never inappropriate, they respected you, and took into consideration your conundrum, but with a stranger, you never knew what they had in mind. 

This was why meeting new people was hard for you, notably dating. They didn't know you, and when someone doesn't know you, they don't know how to treat you. They don't know your likes or dislikes, so they assume. They assume you're okay with their decisions when you're not. 

They also expect more, and so when they touched you, you felt it, uncomfortable.

For a while, adults around you warned you that you being uncomfortable was a sign of respect for your soulmate, that no one else could touch you but them, and it angered you. How stupid was that? You never even met them, and they already owned you? 

Nah, don't think so.

You then took that power away from them, that hold they had on you, and you determined for yourself that you were asexual. You lacked the interest and desire for sexual activity. You weren't going to be touched unless you wanted it, and you didn't. 

It's idiotic how the world portrays falling in love as the only significant thing you should want so badly, that was why some people forced it and failed to see the damage they were doing to themselves. We have the hopeless romantics, aspiring to find love, and those there to take advantage, violating them. 

Your mom loves romantic comedy's, she puts one on every Sunday, that it's technically a tradition now. It's her favorite pass time, and sometimes you'd find yourself enjoying it as well with her. The movies were always cheesy and bogus. Boy meets girl, the boy is a jerk, the girl tries not to fall in love, boy and girl face each other, and then they kiss. 

It's been done before, give us something worth watching.

One day when you were little, she had put on an independent film about a monster and human trying to be together, and new to you, they were both males. They loved each other throughout the entire film, but the twist was, they weren't each other's soulmates. So when the monster ended up finding his, he broke it off with the human, and followed through with a wedding, and later a child. Throughout this, the human continued to date people to fill the hole his lover had left. It ends with them saying their last goodbye and having to pretty much leave their past behind, and continue towards the one the plot wrote out for them. You hated the ending. You got mad at your mom for putting that on because you were so used to couples working out in every movie she watched.

But then she told you, that's real life.

It happens.

You hoped for a long time that your soulmate would get the message you weren't interested, and they'd go away, but if it came down to having to be with them, you hoped you could just be friends? You didn't want your soulmate having to settle for you, just because it was the laws of the land. If they wanted to be with someone else, they had that right.

The same went for you. 

Even your brother, for instance, he liked this girl in his class, and every time he tried to ask her out she flat out rejected him, not even giving him a chance. 

(Like you're one to talk.)

"So, who's next? I think it was Evan's turn." You adjusted yourself back in your spot, getting comfortable again. "Unless Evan is unable to participate due to injuries?" Norm smiled smugly, for once he wasn't the victim of your anger.

You exhaled through your nose, trying your best to calm down, and bring yourself back in the atmosphere of the party. "Nah, I'm Gucci. Like I said, lovers quarrel." You sent him a death glare. "You should see what Y/n does to me when we're alone." He whispered to the other three of the group, but not low enough for you to miss it.

Drunken weasel.

"Just do your turn, Evan." If it weren't for Lexi's voice, you would have seriously snapped again. "And stop bothering Y/n. You two are going to take it too far and accidentally hurt each other. So you should both stop playing around like that." 

"Playing." You mimicked.

You were most certainly not playing!

"Okay, okay! Um," he stuck his tongue out as he thought about what to say. You were also in the middle of a truth or dare game with your buddies. Some of the dares were whack, like making a prank phone call and eating a spoon full of mayo. The truths were just as bad, which is how you found yourself talking about what happened at school because Evan was told to tell a memorable moment, and he chose that one? "Okay, truth. How's everybody's sex life?"

Seriously. Two of your friends answered first. "Single." Oscar responded nonchalantly, and Norm voiced dramatically, "Solo." Evan just wanted an excuse to hear that his friends were still not getting any action, but as if he was so popular with girls. He met your cold stare, waiting for you to answer and you spat out, "You're stupid." He knew very well how your sex life was going, it didn't exist.

Evan rolled his eyes. "Whatta bunch of virgins!" He looked at Lexi, "What about you Lex? Don't think I heard an answer come from you!" He stretched out the 'u' sound.

He was right, she hadn't answered. When you looked at her, you saw how tensed she had gotten, gripping the bottle she's been refusing to drink. "Well...I actually have some news." You looked at her curiously, was she about to say she was pregnant or something? She looked at you, and when the two of you met gazes, she playfully winked. That cute smile of hers appearing back on her face, whatever tension that was there was gone now. You couldn't help but feel your stomach turn. "I met my soulmate."

Everyone gasped.

That’s, not any better?

"Qué!" Evan yelled, hopping over to sit beside her. "Tell me all the juicy details!" She blushed red, shifting glances all around the room. "About four months ago." Your mouth hung open, and she noticed and quickly added, "I didn't want to tell you guys yet, because," She searched for an answer, and you pouted. "I felt like it was better news to tell in person?" You were genuinely hurt, why had she kept something like that from you? 

(Not like you're being completely honest.)

"Whoa." You thought. "Don't have to attack me like that." Where did that even come from?

Norm lifted his bottle in the air. "And you were right! Holy heck, congratulations! Cheers for you." 

"Whose the lucky guy?" This wasn't something you were interested in, so you attempted to tune it out. You didn't want to hear about her so called, "soulmate". You were just being stubborn. “Is this why you’ve been so out of it lately? You’re in love?” You choked, having inhaled the saliva that was piling up in your mouth on accident. This alerted your friends, and Oscar scooted over to pat your back, unsure of what to do, and you accepted it for a few seconds before offering him the best smile you could manage to signify you were fine, and he stopped. 

Love? No way. She can’t possibly already be in love. She didn’t even know him, sure she says it’s been four months, but how does she know she could trust them?

(How do you know YOU could trust them?)

"Yo, stop coming at me." Why were you fighting with the voice in your head? It was like your brain just grew a mind of it's own, and decided that the best use of it was to ridicule you. It always did.

"His names Austin, and he's real sweet, and very handsome." Gross. She's really into this guy.

“Only the best for you!” Evan had started playing with her hair at some point, twirling his fingers within the short strands of blonde hair. "Oh, he sounds so dreamy!"

But then again, she seems so happy, maybe you should give her the benefit of the doubt. It’s obvious he hadn't hurt her, and he wasn't going to.

(Love isn’t always out to harm you.)

You made a ‘tick’ sound with your tongue. Look at you, getting all worked up. “I guess soulmates weren’t all that bad“, you thought.

(Just yours.)

You know it.

You rolled your eyes, shrugging off what you assumed was a short conversation with yourself, you somehow found your voice in the depths of the loud ones and spoke up, "How'd you know?" This was a question you always asked everyone who did manage to fine their mates.

"That he was my soulmate?"

"Yeah.."

Lexi looked down at her wrist, "There was a red string connected to the both of us, we just followed it, and found each other at the ends."

That easy and simple, huh?

"Oh wow, how cute!" Evan grabbed at her wrist, looking at it with her. He really didn't have a clue about boundaries. "I wonder if I'll meet mine soon!" He shoved his own wrist into her face, showing off the bold capitalized initial that was his soulmate connection. "You think mines also a cute boy?" Wow, was he really drunk. "That's amazing, Lexi." Oscar asserted, ignoring the drunken fools babbling. Was it truly that amazing? Would that be the right word for it? "Thanks, guys. I know soulmates are a touchy subject for us so, it means a lot."

Well, yeah it was. She was the first of the group to find their soulmate.

(Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if you were to-)

"I'm not sure I even have one. It's quite upsetting, but it only means I have a chance to be with multiple women before I have to be committed." Norms comment smacked you in the face, bringing you back into reality. How could you even consider it! As if you'd ever want to meet them. Discard that thought in the trash right now! "As if anyone would want to be with you." You replied. The anger in your tone caught everyone's attention. You turned pink. You didn’t expect for it to come out so harshly, but a part of you wanted to let that out. Not necessarily sure though if you were saying that to your friend, or to the voice in your head.

Feeling the awkward tension, you cleared your throat, "A-anyways, Austin, was it? He better be treating you right, or else I'll kick his ass." You chuckled awkwardly.

Lexi looked at you, and did her best not to frown, but you could tell she was concerned. "Of course, he's very aware of that. I told him so much about you guys, and how protective you all are, especially my BFF." You smiled, but avoided eye contact with her. "What about you, y/n? Any update?" You pressed the tip of the bottle against your lips, ready to take a swing of it. "Uh...no." You took a sip.

“No?" She repeated.

What are you supposed to say, honestly? You didn't even want to be having this conversation. How can you get her off your back without causing too much of a scene? "I haven't seen or felt anything, so if we can, drop this please?" Evan was back at your side, wrapping an arm around you, for what felt like the third time today. "Aww, someone's being coy." You gave him a warning glare, giving him the chance to shut his trap before you did, but he ignored it. "She's lying. Her soulmate puts her through hell." 

He didn't-

"Oh really?"

He did.

You shook your head. "He's drunk, he has no idea what he's talking about." You felt your body go warm, you weren't a really good liar, and you knew your friends of all people were going to know that. "Don't listen to him." You chugged the rest of your drink, burning your throat as you forcefully swallowed the fast liquid trying to make it down your esophagus.

The room went silent.

"Y/n, truth or dare." Lexi asked.

Well, at least they weren't going to pester you about it. Taking in a breath and releasing it after, you answered, "Truth." You had your hopes too high. "Are you scared to meet your soulmate?" Her truth surprised you, and as much as you wanted to keep it together, your expression gave you away. "No..." 

You weren't scared, why would you be? If anything your soulmate should be scared of you!

"Come on sweetie, you used to be so excited about it back in grade school. What happened?" How could you say you didn't care without sounding harsh? "I'm In College now Norm, I can't afford to waste my time on silly things like romance, and soulmates. It's all baby stuff." Lexi wasn't buying it. "How do they give her hell Evan?"

You quickly looked at Evan, pleading with your eyes to keep quiet, but he didn't. Why were you expecting anything different?! "Well for starters, she's always so fucking cold, shivering like a chihuahua, and it's so annoying, I have to give her my jacket sometimes. The pricks also gotten her in trouble in class. Our philosophy teacher used to think she was cheating, because of the shit that would appear on her arm." This bitch.

You gotta say though, he was a real good listener. 

Make a reminder to poor cement in his ears the next time he slept.

When very few people did see your arm, you had to pretend it was your doing, that you got bored and drew on yourself. Your dad gets mad at you for it, because he says it looks "ghetto", and you shouldn't be drawing on your skin in the first place! That's why we have paper. But oh no, if you would've just mentioned it was your soulmates doing, everything would be alright.

What is this double standard??

"What! I want to see!!" Your BFF stood up instantly, stepping over to you and grabbing at your arms, but you were tough and kept them in place. "N-no!" Jesus, how did things escalate this bad? "She's actually never reciprocated." Oh, that's why. Lexi paused. "Wait, your soulmates been trying to talk to you this whole time, and you've practically left them on seen!?" What a weird way to put it. "I guess?"

She yelled at you. “Y/n, what the hell??" Wow, she was really mad.

Lexi can also be a bit over-protective, so when it came to you, she always intervened. You were now scared of what she might do. "What! I'm not ready to meet them. Not like I'm ever gonna." You sounded like a kid at this point. Why were you throwing a tantrum? "You don't know that!" You raised your hands in defense, you never liked it when she yelled. She could be scary. "I do know that!" You shouted back. "Fine, then I got a new game to play." She let go of you and walked over to her desk. You could hear her open a drawer and close it after. When she returned she got back in your face and was handing you something. "Do it, write them a message." She had picked out a pen and brought it to you.

No way.

Your face went red. "No!" She gave you her best pout. "Please?" What is happening right now? "T-that's not....that's not even a game!"

"Just get it over with already, y/n." You turned your gaze over to Evan, and for a whole second, you debated on what you should do next. "You're being a tease." That's it. You flung towards him and wrapped your hands around his neck. He complained about almost spilling his drink, but your hands tightened, choking him. 

"Y/n, stop that." Oscar pinched your sides, and your spine curved, thrusting yourself back. You were extremely ticklish and let go of the scrawny boy. Evan erupted in coughs, trying his best to regain the oxygen back in his lungs as he quickly got away from you and hid behind Norm. "Coward." You scoffed. You took a step forward, but was stopped by Lexi putting the pen back in front of you, and your focus shifted. "How 'bout it? Hmm?" She waved it like a wand.

It was taunting you. Now you're the coward.

"Oh man." This is some fever dream isn't it? You're having a nightmare, that's what it is. They don't seriously expect you to do it do they? They just found out and are already pushing you to do something you don't want! This was the big fuss you were afraid of. 

You've avoided them for years, what were they gonna think when you suddenly write back?

(They'll probably be happy?)

You bit down on your teeth, grinding them right after. "Fine!" You took the pen from her.

"What are you going to do?" Oscar asked. You looked at him and shrugged sarcastically. You just grabbed the darn thing, you had no clue what you were going to do. You went mute for a while, thinking about it. Were you really considering it? Damn it all to hell. This was actually harder then it looked. "Well, they're constantly drawing so, might as well?" Here goes nothing.

You placed the point of the pen against your skin, imagining the image you wanted to draw and decided. Dragging the pen along your arm, the ink quickly spewed out, as you drew a circle, and added spikes around it, for the bohemian sun. When you finished, you sat there for a while, having to wait.

"Maybe they're sleeping?" Norm had leaned in with the others, wanting to get a closer look at the so called wonders of having a soulmate.

If they lived in a different time zone, that’ll make sense, and it sounded reasonable, but no, of course your mind drifted towards the negative. Maybe it was because they thought your drawing was lame, and now you regretted everything. You felt nervous, you actually felt nervous of what they might think of you, of their opinion, and it made you feel bad, not good, so this was already looking like a mistake.

What made you think this was suddenly a great idea? Oh yeah, peer pressure and alcohol.

Whatever. "See, i told you they weren't-" A happy face appeared on your wrist.

:)

"Ah! They responded!" Lexi gently pressed a finger against the little doodle. "That's so cute."

Evan pulled your arm away from her, and brought it to him. "Huh! That's it? Not even a hello? Tell them hi!" 

You were irritated up to this point. They seriously had to stop touching you. "Seriously, Evan? What is this, text messaging?" You snapped your arm away and pressed it against your chest, shielding it away from the bad people in the room.

"Good idea, put your phone number!" Lexi suggested which you immediately said,

"No!"

x - x - x 

It's been a good few minutes, of the four of them trying to pin you down, and you fought back and struggled hard, but you weren't enough to take them. Oscar, Norm, and Evan had pounced on you, holding you down by Lexi's request. You were having a hard time breathing, and your entire body felt squished. "This is for your own good, y/n." Norm was on top of your legs to keep you from thrashing. He had both hands pushing your knees down, which sort of hurt. You don't exercise much. "I swear to god i will fill your sinuses with urine." You threatened. Norm couldn't hold back asking, "Whose?" You grinned evilly. "Evans." He replied with a small, "Eww" and a "Why are you so mean to me?" Oh boo-hoo. Was he being serious right now? Did he not grasp what he was doing? What anyone of them were doing? And you were the one being so called, "mean".

Evan chuckled. You tried glaring at him next, but he was laying on your stomach, so you couldn't see much of him, or his smug grin. He held his chin up with his right hand as his left one tapped against the carpet in Lexi's room. "Wow, that wasn't very nice, cookie." That bloody nickname. "Sounds like somebody's cranky."

He enjoyed watching you suffer, didn't he? This was all his fault anyway, him and his big, stupid face.

"Sounds like somebody needs to-" Oscar placed his hand over your mouth, stopping you from finishing that sentence. "That's enough." Oh hell no. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head, hoping he would notice you were trying to look at him, and screamed insults into his palm. He ignored them. Why did they keep insisting on touching you! Did that not seem like enough? You then became fully aware of something, he wasn't using both his hands, and you took that as a sign of vulnerability and tried bringing your arms down, but he saw what you were trying to do, and was quick to react.

What the hell! He secured both your arms over your head with one hand just fine, how did this seem fair at all?

"You guys got her still?" Lexi cautiously asked, and you narrowed your eyes at her.

"Yes, ma'am. She ain't getting out of this one." Evan laughed.

You understood Evan and Norm putting you through something like this, but Lexi? Where was she going with this, what made her think this was okay?

"Alright, I'm writing her number down." You felt the pen touch your middle finger on your left hand, and you tried closing it, trying to fight with whatever little energy you had, but Lexi kept it open. When she was done, they refused to let you go.

Her reason better be fucking good. As well as her apology.

"Oh my gosh, they replied!!" Your heart jumped. "It says, thanks." Spelled t-h-n-x. It was written on your ring finger. "Is that not adorable or what?" Lexi yelled in excitement.

Looks like it's time to get a new number, and some new friends while you're at it.

Your friends engaged in a short conversation about how cute it was indeed, talking about the possibilities of who it might be, what might happen, but you zoned out, paying no attention to them. This is it, it's over. Your life is truly over. You gave up and sank to the floor, accepting defeat and settling with the three boys on top of you. This was your life now.

What did you do to deserve this?

A few minutes passed and your phones ringer went off, alerting you that someone was calling. "You have got to be kidding me!" You yelled at yourself mentally.

Evan picked himself up, and dashed to your phone. The weight off your stomach felt delightful, but now you were just hoping the house could fall on top of you.

"Who is it?? Is it them??" Norm let go of your legs but refused to move. Should you knee him in the balls? You had the perfect opportunity, and such a clear shot too.

Evan screeched. It stung your ears. "It's an unknown number!!"

"Well, answer it." You tried looking up at Oscar. What a horrible idea to let Evan answer. Did they forget who exactly Evan was? It was also a fact that he was the most drunk out of the four of them. This wasn't going to end well.

"Okay, okay." He clicked the green button on the phones screen, and put it on speaker. "Hola!" There was murmuring, and what sounded like a struggle for the phone. Your friends looked at each other as you focused to see if you could hear anything. You knew at any moment a voice was going to appear, and you weren't sure how ready you were for that. "Uh, hello?" Evan asked again, but this time someone answered.

"Hey."

How casual.

Well, there you go. That was your soulmate's voice. You're finally hearing it for the first time, and all you could think of in that very moment was, "oh crap". "Are you a monster?" Your eyes shot open in horror. Your three other friends looked at him in disbelief. They didn't know why he would ask such a thing, but you did, and you regretted sharing such information with him now. Not only did he out you for having a soulmate, but as well as your soulmate being a monster!

Were they even going to answer that? They better not. Please don't.

"Yes."

Fuck.

You felt Oscars grip on you get tighter. You couldn't see what Lexi was doing but you could imagine she was also anxious about the whole ordeal. Norm however carried an awe expression. "Are you a monster?" They reversed the question, and a part of you was expecting Evan to say yes, but it seemed he had some self-control. "No, I'm a human. I'm actually your soulmates best friend!" When it didn't count.

"Oh...really?"

"Yes sir, she's currently on the floor right now." He shot you a wink and you wanted to die.

"How come?"

Was he going to tell him? "We sorta held her down so we could give you her number, but don't worry, she's real excited to meet you! She just needed a friendly push." Is that what they're calling this? "So like, where do you live? Are you rich? What kind of monster are you? She mentioned seeing a skeleton, but I'm pretty sure she's just demented."

Lexi pulled the phone from his grasp, you sighed in relief. "Okay! That is enough, thank you, Evan." She took it off speaker, and placed it over her ear. "Hello?"

"Is this my soulmate?" They asked immediately, and Lexi choked, laughing awkwardly. "Oh heavens no, I'm sorry. She's still on the floor."

Why did she put it off speaker? Now you couldn't hear anything.

"Is she okay?" She let out another laugh, "How cute, you're worried. Of course she is, she’s just shy."

Your friends are the worst.

"Can I talk to her?"

Lexi smiled. "Sure, just give me a sec." Approaching Oscar she signed for him to release your mouth, and Oscar nodded. When he did you stuck your tongue out, and he pinched it. "Don't be a brat." He said.

Lexi dropped to her knees as she placed the phone by your ear. Holding it there since your arms were occupied at the moment. She whispered for you to speak, and you groaned. Fine. You'll talk. It's not like they respected your wishes, or anything. "I'm being held hostage. They're really not my friends, they just barged in my house, and i'm being violated."

"Y/n!" Your friends shouted in unison.

You smirked. This was for sure going to make one of them hang up, and if not. Why haven't they hung up yet? You would’ve thought this was some sort of prank and ended the call. Not like you and your friends were handling this situation very maturely.

"I was held hostage at a barber shop once."

What?

"It was a pretty hairy situation."

Oh.

You giggled loudly.

Your sudden outburst of laughter scared the people around you. "What the hell did he say?" Evan had distanced himself for good measure, peeking from the other side of Lexi's bed. "Giggling is never a good sign." As stupid as Evan was today, he was right. Oscars hold on your arms loosened as Norm asked Lexi to put it on speaker. She kept hushing him, but she did what he asked. "He's a dork." You flushed. "Oh wait, oops." Idiot! He could hear you! "I-i actually thought It was pretty funny." Why the hell did you have loose lips all of a sudden?

"Don't sweat it."

It must be the alcohol, right? Great, you embarrassed yourself, try not to do it again, yeah?

"So...skeleton huh? You've seen me before?" His question had you clear your throat, as you considered what to say and let out more awkward laughs. "I think so?" Your dreams came to mind. "So that means, you are a skeleton?"

"Yes."

Wow.

"Impressed?"

Did you say that out loud?

What happened to not embarrassing yourself!

"A little?" You bit your lip. "You're an actual skeleton? Like all bones?" How did that work? "Were you born one? Or did you die, and come back?" Lexi pinched your nose. You were getting real tired of that. "Oh my goodness y/n, you're just as bad as Evan!" They pinched you for everything, it was their way of telling you to cool it and behave. "Yeah sweetie, be polite." You couldn't help it though, and Norm should have gotten off you a long time ago! You rolled your eyes, "I'm sorry, was that too straight forward? I guess maybe I am excited to speak to you." Did you just hear yourself? You sound too interested, abort. "I have so many, questions?" Damn right you did. "Me too." 

Of course, he did as well, and you had a feeling of what he might ask, but now wasn't the time to get carried away. You've reached your max of humiliation for the day. "How about, for the time being, because I'm sorta in the middle of a party, if we want to call it that? I'll answer one, and you answer one. Deal?"

"I thought you were being held prisoner. When did it suddenly become a party?"

"The moment she got to talk to you!" Evan shouted from across the room.

You wanted to hide your face in your hands. "Excuse him.” Those bastards were enjoying this, but don't you worry, you swore the moment they let go of you, you were going to bury some bodies.

He chuckled. Something in your chest throbbed. "It's fine. What's your name?" Your name? Could he find you by just knowing your name? Nah. Right? Should you make one up? "Is that your question? Remember you only get one."

"For the time being right? Yeah, I'll want to know your name."

Okay, just say it, then this conversation can be over, that's what you wanted, right? Do it. "Y/n." Oh my gosh, you could have at least tried to make it sound natural.

"Y/n." He repeated.

The sound of your name rolling of his tongue made you shiver, you didn't like it. "Y-yeah, and yours?"

...

There was silence.

...

Your friends all looked at you with different expressions.

God you were going to kill them all.

...

"It's Stretch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, this is going awful.


	3. American Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who doesn't love a flirtatious skeleton in a orange hoodie? 
> 
> Well, we get to see his side of the encounter, and finish off with a very flustered Stretch and reader.

"Stretch?"

...

"Stretch, excuse me?"

...

"Hello!"

...

"Stretch!" 

...

Still no answer. This is getting annoying. He can't seriously still be asleep. He's faking it!

"PAPY!" The sudden burst from the smaller skeleton startled the figure beside him. "STOP PRETENDING ALREADY AND GET OFF THE COUCH!!" How many times is he going to have to repeat himself? Till he loses his voice? 

"Please, Blueberry." A hand went to rest on the fuming skeletons shoulder, relaxing him almost immediately. "You don't want to startle him awake, do you?" Blueberry got embarrassed. He did occasionally lose control of how loud his voice could be. This made the older gentlemen smile. Crossing his arms behind his back, he sighed to himself as he looked at his oldest son in a caring manner to not upset him any further. "Why didn't you just carry him back to his room?"

Blueberry's embarrassment turned into anger. Flushing a deeper shade of blue.

"WHY DIDN'T I WHAT?!"

Unbelievable.

"I FEEL LIKE I'M LOSING MY MIND WITH THIS FAMILY!" It wasn't a very productive Saturday for the taller skeleton, but then again, when were they ever? "HE'S JUST BEING LAZY!" Blueberry whined. "WHAT'S SO HARD ABOUT WALKING A FEW MORE STEPS TO YOUR ROOM?!" Stretch was snoozing on the couch when his brother had found him, and despite how peaceful he looked, Blueberry gave him an earful, but as one would expect, he didn't wake up. It's understandable to believe he's managed to sleep through way worse, considering who he shared a roof with.

"Blueberry." Gaster carefully placed his hand on the skeleton's frontal bone and rubbed gently, trying to calm him down. "Both you and your brother work very hard, perhaps what the two of you need is a break?"

Gaster recognized the exhaustion coming from his sons. They've been running on fumes, with Stretch taking up more shifts at the cinema, and Blueberry wrapping up his Bachelor in architecture, the two have been busy. It's great the two are taking responsibility for themselves, it makes him very proud, but they shouldn't push themselves so hard. He knows having a job and going to school is always tough, but Gaster couldn't help and absolutely love doing both! He loved being a caretaker, and working as a teacher for transitional kindergarten gave him the chance to continue being one. Helping the younger children prepare for the next level, with the exception of his boys, his profession is a very pleasant and entertaining one. On top of that, maintaining the title of best father, he asked them to get out of the house to find something enjoyable to do. His argument, how it's been a while that they shared some much needed spare time with each other, which wasn't true, they were always together, but Stretch was never the one to pass on hanging out with his sibling. Waking him, however, was the issue.

"Very well, I am going to wake him." Gaster intended to use his ability, summoning his floating hands to grab at Stretch's shoulders to pick him up tenderly, but instead, accidentally pulled him down roughly, causing Stretch to painfully bang his head on the floor. Both father and son panicked. 

"STRETCH?!"

It took him a few seconds to come to, but the pain from the blow caused Stretch to lazily open his sockets. He felt disoriented, examining his surroundings, he realized he was no longer laying on the couch but on the floor, and upside down. 

When Stretch fixed himself, he rubbed at his crown and eyed the two figures looking down at him. Blue had his hands over his mouth, as Gaster's face dusted orange and blue from shame. They immediately sputtered out endless apologies, and Stretch grasped what had happened, but he shrugged it off with a smile.

"We are very sorry to have waken you, especially in such a manner..." Gaster felt horrible, but his son wouldn't let him continue to feel that way. "It's okay. It was hard to sleep with all the yelling anyway." Stretch reassured him, and Blue exploded. "THAT'S BECAUSE WE WERE TRYING TO WAKE YOU!"

Their Gaster had an issue with adjusting the levels of his magic, and unintentionally did more harm than good, but when he needed it the most, it worked in his favor. Which only ever happened when he wasn't paying attention. It functioned like an instinct, a fight or flight response. The other Gaster's were so good at controlling their power, but the swap version fell behind. It's been a dilemma of his since coming into the new world, and having to raise two boys in the strange reversed universe was his main priority, not what he had inside him. His power was far stronger than the others combined. When he was told so, he laughed, but the Gaster from this universe wasn't joking, he had the potential to wipe out cities without much effort, and Classic offered to teach him how to sustain it, but he politely declined. In fact, he was scared of it, but his sons caught him regularly trying to practice, and to help him gain more confidence, whenever he did mess up they made sure not to react.

They were patient with him. Supporting one another. Keeping each other balanced.

That's what family is for.

"So, we're going out then?" Stretch was on his feet, hands stuffed in his hoodie, as he slouched beside his father. "Will you be joining us?"

Gaster shook his head. "Not today, I have some things to do before Monday's class, but if you'd like we can all do something tonight."

Blueberry's face lit up. "LIKE A MOVIE NIGHT?!"

"Yes, Blueberry. Precisely. Now go change you two, i don't want to see you both leave in pajamas again."

"But, I'm already dressed." Stretch looked down at his clothes, not finding a issue with how he was dressed, but his brother butt in. "YOU ARE MOST CERTAINLY NOT!"

The attire for the day was set to casual, it being too warm outside for a hoodie, so alternatively, Stretch put on his yellow bowling shirt, fastening the buttons closed and leaving the collar open, revealing the top part of his sternum. He paired this with his usual cargo shorts and old skool cheddar and white skate shoes.

He looked charming. 

Blueberry dressed in sportswear, wearing gray Nike shorts, a white tucked in short-sleeve, with mono suede light blue Chuck Taylors, and his favorite blue scarf he styled as a bandanna around his neck. 

The idea was to walk around the strip in their neighborhood, not to buy anything, but to do a little bit of window shopping. Instead what went down was going into said shops to buy things Blueberry thought was necessary to have.

Like slime, stickers, chalk, markers, glow sticks, and a yo-yo.

Well the yo-yo was Stretch's idea, but the rest was all Blue, and very conveniently all from the local toy shop.

They wont admit it if anyone asks, but they spent hours in that store.

"Look, Blue." Stretch slipped the ring of the yo-yo's string onto his middle finger. "Check this out." He thrust down his arm, releasing the yo-yo and watching it barely hit the ground. Blueberry set all his focus on the spinning disks, and a "oh" of amusement escaped him. Leaving it to spin for a bit, Stretch gave it a sharp tug to bring it back up. Catching it in his hand, he smugly smiled at his brother. "Was that not the coolest thing ever?"

A huge smile appeared over the blue skeleton, as he nodded enthusiastically. "THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER! YOU SHOULD LEARN HOW TO DO TRICKS!! I'D WATCH YOU FOR HOURS!!" He genuinely meant that.

Stretch continued playing with the green imperial yo-yo after that.

Yep, definitely a necessary purchase.

When the two finally did get hungry they debated for a whole 30 minutes on what they should eat.

A greasy slice of pizza, or a healthy sandwich?

"Hi, welcome to Peppers Pizzeria, what kind of pizza would you like?"

Stretch grinned at his brother as he watched the smaller skeleton roll his eyes from having been defeated. Luckily, Stretch wasn't the kind of skeleton to gloat, but he knew a few that would have. "I GUESS I'LL HAVE A CHEESE PIZZA." The young girl behind the register held her smile as Blue practically yelled at her in annoyance. Whatever had the skeleton upset wasn't her fault, so she kept it together. "I'll take pepperoni." She was grateful the other one hadn't shouted his request at her, and typed the order into the register. "Okay, that'll be 7.08. Any drinks?" Stretch glanced at Blue, then back at the girl. "Yeah, I'll get a large lemonade." She added in the item. "Just one?" Stretch made a tick noise with his tongue, and formed the 'ok' sign with his hand to gesture that she was right. 

Blue eyed him curiously. "ARE YOU NOT GOING TO GET ONE?" 

"We can share." He replied casually. 

Blueberry didn't think much of it, but when he turned back to the worker, she was blushing. "9.38, please." Stretch pulled out his wallet and removed his debit card form it's holder, handing it to her. She took it and swiped it immediately, returning it back to him. "Thank you." What strange behavior. Why was she suddenly acting weird? He thought about what could possibly have made her-

It was his turn to blush, light blue spread across his skull and he rushed out. "WE'RE BROTHERS!" 

Stretch furrowed his brow at Blue, and the girl turned even redder. "Here's your receipt!" She ripped the thing once it was done printing and nearly throw it at the tall skeleton. "Your pizza will be out in a minute." She turned around and walked off. Blue felt so humiliated. "Oh...kay?" Stretch crumpled up the tiny piece of paper and shoved it in one of his pockets. "That was weird, right?" Stretch asked his brother, but Blue ignored answering. Internally screaming as he stepped away from him, trying to find somewhere to sit, and Stretch followed. How was he oblivious to the whole ordeal? He was the one that caused it!

Blueberry found a booth in the back and did his best to sit in the far corner, trying to hide from anyone who had worked there. Stretch sat across from him and instantly felt himself dissolve on the leather, extending out his legs and placing his arms behind his head, getting comfortable quickly. Blue pouted. "DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO FALL ASLEEP AGAIN." Stretch grinned, it sounded like a question, but he knew it wasn't. "And what if I am?"

Blue sighed, i guess they had a long day. "AT LEAST HAND ME THE BAG, I WANT TO PLAY WITH THE SLIME." Stretch brought down his arms, having forgotten he was the one carrying everything and slipped out the plastic bag, placing it on the center of the table. Blueberry leaned forward and opened it, searching for one of the many slimes he bought. "I don't think you should play with it yet. You're about to eat." Papa stretch is so cute, isn't he? Blue gasped excitedly, he found them! Holding two small round containers, one filled with cotton candy, and the other, birthday cake. Blue appeared relaxed again. "IT'S NOT GOING TO KILL ME." He said jokingly but thought further of it. "IS IT?" Stretch held back his laughter, "Probably." 

"Order number 28!"

Blue flinched, dropping his slimes on the table, "THAT'S OURS, PAPY! GO GET IT!" As if Blue was going to go, no way was he going to show his face to that human girl again. 

"K." Stretch stood up and walked back over to the counter, where the girl was already waiting for him with both plates on her palms. "Here you go, sir!" Stretch grinned. The pizza smelled great! Better live up to the expectation. "Thanks." Being called 'Sir' wasn't that bad too. He extended his arms outward for her to place them on his hands, but before she did, she noticed something start to appear on his left arm. When the realization hit her, she giggled. "Aww, that's so cute, your soulmate draws you pictures."

Now Stretch was really confused. Isn't this the same girl who thought just a second ago that he and the other skeleton were a thing? "Pardon?" She looked at his arm, and when he hadn't followed, she did it again. Stretch first observed the right one but saw nothing, and the girl laughed, clearly he was messing with her, but he seriously wasn't. "Your left one." She smiled uneasily, and Stretch felt his soul jump. Was she being serious, and if she was, why was he resisting to look at it, he wasn't stupid, so why was he acting dumb? 

Was his soulmate really trying to tell him something? The girl said pictures? What were they drawing? Was it embarrassing? Or inappropriate? Guess everyone was going to know before he did.

Oh, suck it up! The pizza is reasonably getting cold too, we don't have all day for this.

He turned his left arm over, and she was right, even with the space in the middle, it was obvious to tell what you were drawing. "It's a sun!" Stretch glanced back at the worker and smiled. "I guess it is." What were you doing drawing the sun? "Do they do that a lot?" Those words crushed him. You've never done anything like this before, and then the real question came to mind, was it intentional? He nodded, and grabbed the pizza, thanking the worker before walking back to the booth. You used to scribble random junk, usually things that you didn't want to forget, like dates, things you had to buy or things you had to do, but never something big like this. What made you finally change your mind? 

When he made it back, Blueberry was distracted with the stickers he had gotten, too busy to notice that his brother was now distressed. How was he going to tell him? Would Blueberry freak out? Of course he's going to, but Blueberry wouldn't give him such a hard time about it, the others, were probably going to make it hell for him. Setting the plates on the table, Blue then glanced up at him. "WHY DID YOU TAKE SO LONG-" He paused, Stretch looked dreadful. "WHAT?" Did that lady say something to him? Did she make things awkward again?? "STRETCH?!" Stretch deflated in his seat, thinking on how he was going to do this, and mentally said, 'fuck it' and placed his left arm on the table, exposing it to his brother to see. Blueberry wasn't amused. "YOU DREW ON YOURSELF AGAIN?" Stretch groaned. "WHEN DID YOU EVEN HAVE TIME TO DO THAT?" Blue frowned. "IS THAT WHY YOU TOOK LONG?"

Stretch shook his head. "No, I didn't do it this time." He uttered nervously, which wasn't like him at all. Stretch had one of the most chill and most laid-back personalities ever, nothing bothered him. So what could have gotten under his skin? "THEN WHO DID-" Blue took into account of what his brother's choice of words implied, and it clicked. "NO...WAS IT-" Stretch shifted all his weight to his right hand, placing his chin against his palm as he nodded, and Blueberry grinned wide. "REALLY?? THAT'S SO GREAT, PAPY!!" 

He wanted to believe it was, but something didn't feel right. "Is it?" 

"OF COURSE IT IS!" Blue was jealous even, he's been dying to meet his soulmate, and here was Stretch with the option to, and he was being a sour puss about it. "THEY FINALLY GOT BACK TO YOU." As if he was going to let his brother ruin such a marvelous moment. He rummaged through the bag again and searched for something in particular. "AND YOU ARE GOING TO RESPOND!" He grabbed the pack of Mr. Sketch scented markers and brought them out. "I am?" Opening the package he picked the black one, licorice scented, gross. "YES. YOU ARE." He rolled it over to Stretch and the marker fell onto his lap. "DO IT!"

Stretch stared at the marker for a while before picking it up. He uncapped the top and sniffed at it, he didn't smell much. "You do it." 

"ME?!"

x - x - x

"A happy face?" Stretch grinned. His brother had panicked and drew what was probably the first thing that came to mind. He was blushing from having been put in such a position and shouted out how he didn't know what to do! A smiley face was okay though, if anything, it seemed almost perfect. The first time Stretch drew on his arm, it was by chance, he wasn't expecting anyone but himself to see it. He knew about the concept of soulmates, but he didn't think he was going to meet his in such a way. When he and his brother first came to the new universe, Stretch noticed that every so often a tiny squiggle with two very disproportionate dots would appear on his left arm, but he always thought it was Blue doing it or he himself on accident. It was a really weird smiley face, and you used to draw those on yourself to boost your self-esteem. Recall that you were in the middle of seventh grade, and it was a tough period for you. Getting in trouble, and having to deal with all the nonsense your soulmate put you through, maybe it would've been a good idea to reach out for each other, it seems you two needed it. 

Stretch didn't have a good time either, he wasn't adjusting like his sibling, whereas Blueberry was up and ready for anything, Stretch felt lost and lacked the motivation to get back into a routine. The other skeletons he met did their best to make them comfortable, but he wanted to return home. Something he bonded over with the edgier versions of him and his brother, but it seems the so called split in the space-time continuum garbage was a lot harder to understand and master, even with the minds of three Gasters working on it. 

So Stretch was the kind of kid to miss a lot of school, regularly spending those days with his father at Gaster's Laboratory, and so when the incident happened, Gaster was the one to break the news to Stretch. Informing him all that he needed to know, and Stretch remembered how outraged the other skeleton kids were that he had met his so fast.

He had a soulmate! 

And all he had done was draw things like hearts and stars on himself. 

He just did it out of boredom, and when he had gone to wipe it off, to avoid being bullied by the others, the scribbles on his arm stayed and rather produced a red hue around it. Apparently, both had tried to wash it off at the same time, and as punishment, it permanently stayed a few more days after. Stretch had no clue what to do with this newfound information, and yes, he tried multiple times to talk with them, but they never responded. So he used it as an outlet, whenever he wanted to vent, he wrote stuff, positively thinking they'd say something back, but they didn't. 

Did his soulmate hate him?

Or, were they too small to even hold a pencil? The weird drawn happy faces are starting to make a little bit more sense now. 

Cherry used to joke that his soulmate was a baby, and Stretch had no desire to be with a baby. 

But he couldn't help and wonder, where were you this whole time?

"MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE PUT A HEART? OR A STAR!" The two were munching on their slices of pizza, and Blueberry couldn't help but feel like he had screwed up Stretch's chances at pursuing anything further with his soulmate. Simply because he drew the face, it was adorable to see the small skeleton worry, but he was overreacting. Stretch was actually glad he hadn't gone with the heart, he doesn't even know where he stands with his soulmate. That would've reasonably been more awkward. "A STAR IS SO MUCH COOLER!", he whined. 

"It's fine, Blue. I don't think it matters." But it did. 

Stretch picked up the drink in one hand, and with the other, held his pizza. He sipped some of the lemonade, and through the clear straw, something about his middle finger caught his attention. "Oh..." It was a set of numbers. "I don't think you need to worry anymore." He flipped the bird to his brother, and Blue gasped. "STRETCH!" He opened all his fingers and smiled anxiously. "No, look." Blue inspected the finger, and he erupted. "THEY GAVE YOU THEIR NUMBER!!" 

Light orange dusted over Stretch's skull as he rubbed the back of his neck. "What do I do now?" He forgot he wasn't wearing his hoodie today, he wished he had. "TELL THEM THANKS." He did just that. "Okay." He wrote it on his ring finger.

Not symbolic at all.

He showed it to Blue, and he deadpanned. "HOW LAZY ARE YOU?!" Stretch snickered. 

He had spelled it, t-h-n-x.

"YOU'RE SOULMATE DESERVES BETTER." Blue cried. Whether he meant that or not, he said it. Resting his elbows on the table, he held his cheeks. Stretch was so lucky. "ARE YOU GOING TO CALL?" Stretch shrugged, "Maybe later." The older skeleton didn't like that. Digging in his shorts pocket, he pulled out his phone, and Stretch's smile fell. "STRETCH..." Blueberry grabbed his brother's hand and held it. "BROTHER..." Stretch was worried, and like lightning, Blue whipped out some cool wrestling type move and pounced on him. "I'M GOING TO CALL IT!" Blueberry rushed out, hopping on the table, and throwing all his weight down on Stretch's arm, pinning it instantly. It happened so fast, Stretch didn't even have time to react, or counter. He was baffled. "Blueberry, no!" 

"BLUEBERRY, YES!" He tapped on the numerical buttons needed and pressed the call button. 

It was dialing, and Stretch panicked. "Give me the phone, Blue." He used his right arm to reach for the phone, but Blue moved it farther from his range. "No." He uttered back. 

Someone picked up. "Hola!"

Blueberry opened his mouth to speak, but Stretch quickly clasped his hand over him. "Give it!" He whispered. Blue shook his head, and Stretch turned his brother's entire body flat against the table. He wasn't playing. "Uh, hello?" It was a boys voice. Stretch grabbed the phone from the smaller skeletons grasp and pressed it against his skull. "Hey." Blue pouted. If he wasn't going to be allowed to talk, then he at least wanted to be able to hear. He stood up and sat beside his brother, pressing his own skull against the phone so he could try to listen. "Are you a monster?" Both skeletons went stiff. What kind of ice breaker is that? How did they even know? Stretch tossed a look at Blue and he lifted his arms in confusion. "Yes." Stretch answered. Blue gestured with his hand for him to keep going, and he returned the question. "Are you a monster?" They waited for the response and the boy laughed, "No, I'm a human. I'm actually your soulmates best friend!" 

Okay?

"Oh...really?" Well, it made sense why he was the one talking on the phone, but where were you? "Yes sir, she's currently on the floor right now." There was that term again. Blue mumbled, "What?", and Stretch pressed a finger against his mouth. "How come?" What were you doing on the floor? Were you just laying around, did that mean you also liked taking naps in the middle of the day? "We sorta held her down so we could give you her number, but don't worry, she's real excited to meet you! She just needed a friendly push." Oh. Stretch shrunk back, he looked as beat up as he did earlier. So you were forced to do this. Blue had no idea what to do, but the human boy sure likes to talk fast. "So like, where do you live? Are you rich? What kind of monster are you? She mentioned seeing a skeleton, but I'm pretty sure she's just demented." Stretch came back to life,

...did he say skeleton?

"Okay! That is enough, thank you, Evan." The skeletons heard a new voice and stared intensely at the phone. It was a girl's voice, which only meant one thing. Blueberry gasped, making Stretch more nervous, "Hello?" but he went for it anyways. "Is this my soulmate?" She choked and started laughing awkwardly. "Oh heavens no, I'm sorry. She's still on the floor." Why is she still on the floor?! "I THINK SOMETHING MIGHT BE WRONG." Blue said low so they wouldn't hear him. Stretch agreed. "Is she okay?" She let out another laugh, "How cute, you're worried." Stretch blushed. He wasn't that worried. It's not like your in any trouble from the sounds of it. "Of course she is, she’s just shy." 

You, shy? That was sort of, adorable, but that just made him want to talk to you more. "Can I talk to her?" Blue was getting excited. He wanted to hear what his brother's soulmate sounded like just as much as he did. "Sure, just give me a sec."

And a second felt like an eternity.

He's always asked himself what would be the first things you two would say to each other. He can't believe he's finally having the opportunity to speak with you. He couldn't wait.

"I'm being held hostage."

Well, it wasn't super romantic, but it was something he wasn't going to forget, and neither was Blue.

Very memorable indeed.

After those words had left your mouth Blue leaped into 'panic mode' and snatched the phone from Stretch, ready to yell at you for your current address, but it was obviously a joke, right? Stretch stopped him before he could go any further. "They're really not my friends, they just barged in my house, and I'm being violated." They heard your friends shout at you for saying such a horrid thing, and Blueberry relaxed himself. It was just a joke, but, what do you say after something like that? You literally used the word, violated. That's a strong word. So he chose to ignore that one and focused on the first thing you said. Taking back the phone he spoke into the mic, "I was held hostage at a barber shop once." Blue didn't like where this was going. "It was a pretty hairy situation." He threw his arms in the air.

Why was his brother this way!

There was silence, but then you giggled. "He's a dork." Stretch smiled. "Oh wait, oops. I-i actually thought It was pretty funny." You stuttered, that was even cuter. "Don't sweat it." Stretch winked at Blueberry for having succeeded in making you laugh, and the skeleton returned it with sticking his magic tongue out in disapproval. There was no way you thought that was funny. You were just being nice. Blue knew his brother very well, though he may have started out very nervous and anxious to talk to you, he was going to do what he does best, and that's flirt. Deciding now was best to move away, and give you guys some space, Blueberry sat back down in his seat across from Stretch, and sipped at the lemonade, still intending to listen in to the conversation that the two of you tried to put together. "So...skeleton huh? You've seen me before?" That was actually a good question, Blue thought, how did they know about the skeleton thing? Stretch heard you clear your throat and laugh. Another brownie point. "I think so? So that means, you are a skeleton?" Stretch had already answered this question when your friend had asked, guess you didn't hear? "Yes." Still, he wasn't satisfied with your response. It can't be a coincidental guess, you knew more than you wanted to say. 

"Wow." Oh my gosh, you really did say that. "Impressed?" Stretch smugly replied. 

"A little?" You're boosting the boys ego. "You're an actual skeleton? Like all bones?" Stretch wanted to reply with another joke but you continued to ask more. "Were you born one? Or did you die, and come back?" That ones interesting. 'Did you die and come back?', Stretch repeated in his head. What a silly thing to say. You're implying he's a zombie? Blue would say there is really no difference between the two. He was going to do his best to answer when he heard the phone move away. 

Blue saw the expression on Stretch's face change and he asked what happened. Stretch shrugged. The little skeleton had begun playing with his slime, since he had finished eating a while ago, and his brother was busy, he thought now was the perfect opportunity to test out his new cotton candy ooze. "I'm sorry, was that too straight forward?" You came back. "I guess maybe I am excited to speak to you. I have so many, questions?" Stretch watched Blue spread the colorful mud over his phalanges. "Me too." He wanted you to tell him everything, he had so much to ask, but he guessed he could wait.

He's been considerate of your absence this entire time.

"How about, for the time being, because I'm sorta in the middle of a party, if we want to call it that? I'll answer one, and you answer one. Deal?" Stretch was taken aback, "I thought you were a hostage. When did it suddenly become a party?"

"The moment she got to talk to you!" The boy from earlier shouted. "Excuse him." You sounded embarrassed. Stretch chuckled, "It's fine." You had some funny friends. If only he knew what was really going on, then he wouldn't think they were so funny. "What's your name?" It was a bold move to ask for your name, he knew that. "Is that your question? Remember you only get one." He was hoping, and praying for this day to come, but he had a feeling you wanted to hang up, and he had your number, so he wasn't going to let you go so easily after this phone call. "For the time being right? Yeah, I'll want to know your name." He just hoped you'd stick around from now on. 

"Y/n." You didn't even introduce yourself, you just spat it out like nothing. "Y/n." He repeated. At the sound of the name Blue looked up from his slime. He had felt something within his chest. Which was very weird, he's certain he's heard that name probably a million times before, but why was it any different now? "Y/n?" It echoed in Blue's head.

"Y-yeah, and yours?" You stuttered again. Now it was Stretch's turn, but he hesitated, he didn't know if he should tell you his real name, or the name he was assigned with when he moved here.

He didn't mind either or, if anything, he'd love to hear you say his name, not in a sexual way, but because that was his name, but there was already a Papyrus in this universe, so it'll only make things more complicated. 

God, this was frustrating.

Papyrus, or Stretch?

...

Papyrus, or Stretch?

...

Papyrus, or Stretch?

...

Oh, screw it.

"It's Stretch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did this take so long to post? *cries* I appreciate your patience.


	4. Another One Bites The Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you do when you're trying to ignore your soulmate that happens to be a skeleton monster? Go to a monster bakery, and meet new monsters.
> 
> Sounds like such a great idea!

Eh? 

Did you hear him correctly?

His name was, what?

He's.........not serious, is he?

What kind of name is that?

"I think it's pretty clever." Said skeleton mentally agreed with you, but it was still his name, nonetheless.

Your face slowly turned red. "Oh." You did it again. You embarrassed yourself. 

"No no, it's," Crap, what are you supposed to say exactly?

I mean too be fair, it's unlike anything you've ever heard before, and here you thought the name Stormi and Apple were dumb. 

"Uh." Should you say it's weird? You thought it was. Different? For sure. Unique? Yeah, okay, that sounds about right, go with that one. It sounds less offensive. "It's lovely."

That's not even close to what you wanted to say!

Why do you keep embarrassing yourself?

"Y/n is pretty lovely too." You plastered on a fake smile he couldn't see. You knew he was referring to your name, he's calling your name lovely, not you specifically, but, hearing that made you envision yourself, and him calling you lovely, you get the picture? "Thanks." You responded rather blandly.

Lexi giggled softly, and you shot your eyes up at her, only to be exposed to such a horrific scene. Everyone was staring down at you, you hadn't noticed how close they had gotten. They all wore a wide grin, and you felt awkward, and even.....a little scared.

Whatta bunch of weirdos.

_(What are you going to do?)_

Put an end to this.

_(Attagirl.)_

"Can you, give me a sec?" You quickly added. Turning away from the phone before waiting for his response, you muttered out to your friends, "You guys mind?" and they all went 'oh' and set you free, taking a step back to give you some space.

Well, it's about damn time!

You exhaled roughly as your arms dropped down to your sides, that was by far one of the WORST situations you've ever been in, and your so-called "good" and "caring" friends put you there.

You sat yourself up, pressing your knuckles against the curve of your spine, and rolling your head to the side, trying to crack both your back and neck at the same time. The snaps alerted everyone in the room, and two out of four of them flinched. You noticed it and wore a tight-lipped smile. "Oh, now you guys are scared of me, huh?" You chuckled. "What, you don't think four to one was a little, unfair?" Your fake smile dissolved into a frown, and Norm approached you, standing tall in front of you. You eyed him curiously, and he presented his hand out to you, offering to help you stand.

Examining his hand for a whole second, you looked back up at him and grinned. He immediately regretted his decision and went to pull his hand back when you grabbed it. He yelped as you pulled him down. 

Lexi gasped. "Y/n!"

You groaned as your bodies touched, he had fallen on top of you, and you quickly shoved him off, reversing the positions so that Norm was pressed against the floor, and you were hovering over him. 

"I was just being a good sport!" The lad cried, "Please don't hurt me!" He was flat on his stomach, trembling in fear, and you clicked your tongue. "Did you guys listen to me when I said no?" Ignoring his pleas for mercy, you grabbed at the hand he had offered just a moment ago, and put him in a wristlock, bringing his arm behind his back and bending it rather uncomfortably. "I don't think so."

"Ah, she's hurting me!" He started whining loudly, tears piling up in his eyes. "Y/n, please! I didn't do anything wrong!" 

You wanted to shout at him and tell him how he, in fact, did do something wrong, they all did, but a pair of arms slowly coming into view near your sides caught your attention. "I'll save you Norm!" They wrapped themselves around your stomach, embracing you in a tight hug, and your left eye twitched.

If you were to be in a classic cartoon show right about now, you would be covered in flames, because you were literally, fuming with anger.

You turned his arm more forcefully and Norm let out a piercing cry. "Ah, you aren't helping! Somebody else save me!!" But Evan refused to let go of you, rubbing his face into the lower part of your neck. "She'll surrender to my affection!" He squeezed you, and you felt hot.

He had the audacity to still touch you!?!?

Clenching your jaws, you balled your left hand into a fist to strike at them.

Lexi and Oscar both exchanged a look, knowing all too well what was about to escalate, and Oscar sighed, "Y/n, stop it. You're going to hurt them, and we'll never hear the end of it." You tossed your gaze over to the two, opening your mouth to speak, but instantly choked on your words. Oscar held a cold stare and Lexi seemed worried.

Dammit. 

You never could talk back to them.

Biting the inside of your right cheek, you thought of what to do or say next. It obviously wasn't any fair, why were you being depicted as the bad guy here? "It was supposed to be a cute moment!" Glancing back down at the sobbing mess below you, you lightly placed your shoe over his tailbone to frighten him. He should just stop talking and accept the punishment. He was making things worse for himself.

"Nothing about what I went through was cute!"

He jolted, and more tears fell. "Ah! Please don't, I have a play rehearsal tomorrow morning."

You added more weight. "Well, you should've thought about that before." You heard Evan laugh. "And you!"

You swung your hand to the back of your head and smacked Evan in the face, searching for his ear and pulled on it roughly. "I'm going to kick your ass too."

His grip loosened. "Ow, that hurts!"

Idiots. Couldn't they handle a taste of their own medicine? "That's the point!"

"Please, forgive us!" Norm sniffled. "We didn't do it to hurt you!"

You took what he said into consideration. Your friends weren't assholes, well, at least not on purpose. They really did respect you, and believe it or not, would drop everything for you, but you shook your head. There was no way you were just going to let them walk away from this. They did you dirty. "But you did!"

It must be obvious by now, but if it wasn't, as far as your flaws go, the biggest, and most noticeable one, would be your temper. 

But you always had a good reason to be angry. 

The Universe didn't like you. 

"Y/n, calm down." No! You were calm, if anything, you were being more reasonable than any of them had been for the entire day! "I will not calm down, and you can fuck off!" Oof, bad choice of words. You didn't mean to snap, and especially at her. You bit your lip to restrain anymore of your outburst, you didn't like fighting with Lexi, and as mentioned previously, she was never the one to give you such a hard time, she was always the voice of reason and kept you in check.

So, what was her deal?

Lexi's mouth hung open, and her expression hardened.

Uh-oh.

She crossed her arms, disappointed in you, and Oscar butt in. "You can just be very stubborn, Y/n."

Your cheeks turned pink. "And? What's that gotta do with anything?"

Your friends sucked. They pushed you to do something you weren't ready for, and that sucked.

How was that you being stubborn?

Oscar shrugged, he couldn't even give you a straight answer. "Could've at least made me do it on my own terms."

He nodded, "Well, we're sorry."

You don't believe him. "Doesn't sound like it." There's no hint of emotion when he speaks, so it can be pretty hard to break down whether he's being empathetic, or sarcastic. 

"But i am." He responded. 

You closed your eyes, inhaling and exhaling through your nose.

Yeah, you're not feeling it.

"Pardon me, but how can you be chatting? Did you forget whose on the floor SUFFERING in pain!" Norm interrupted, and you dug the heel of your shoe into his back for raising his voice.

Evan joined in. "Yeah! And why are we the only ones getting hurt? Oscar and Lex were in on it too!"

You rolled your eyes.

Letting go of Norm's arm abruptly, it dropped beside him, and he sighed in relief. Your mouth curved into a smirk. You lifted your foot to give him a sense of freedom, but before he could try and push himself up, you pressed down again, and he squirmed. "You are being naff, y/n!"

Naff? What.

You let Evan go and he stumbled back, touching his throbbing red ear. "Cookie's just a bully!" You stepped off Norms' poor back and faced Evan. His face went pale. "Me, the bully?" You scoffed and quickly seized him in a headlock, giving him a noogie. "And I thought you guys were my friends!"

"Aye, no juegues así!" He struggled, trying to get out of your grasp, but you tightened your hold. "Nosotros somos! Nosotros somos!" He was panicking. "That's why we did it!!" 

They did it because they were your friends? Pfft. Wonder what they'll do if they weren't. 

"And that's supposed to justify everything?"

"Si."

Norm was already on his knees, massaging his aching arm when he looked at the two of you. "Maybe we shouldn't intervene with her life anymore. She isn't grateful."

Well grateful isn't the word you'd use. 

Geez, what loser friends you have. "So what, does this mean you guys are happy with yourselves? Are you satisfied?" You couldn't believe what you were hearing. 

"Extremely." Oscar answered, and you deadpanned. 

Bruh.

"Oh, wait, hold on." Evan stopped trying to remove your arm off him and reached into his pocket. He drew out his phone and tossed it at Norm, startling the blonde Britain. He fought with catching it in his hands, but once he secured it he shouted at Evan. "Evan! Maybe give a heads-up next time?" Evan smiled. "Take a picture of me and Y/n like this. I want to post it with the caption, 'Badass princess gives it to me'."

You unhooked your arm from around his neck, feeling disgusted that you were touching such a vile creature, and covered your reddening face with both palms. "Idiots!"

Was everything just a joke to them? Could they take nothing seriously?!

"Aww," Evan pouted. "It would've been a great tweet!"

Norm took a photo of you regardless. "Mmm, yes. Y/n does look very cute today, doesn't she?" He sighed in wonder. "Maybe we should get the birthday girl and Y/n to pose together and I'll gladly take the-oop." You punched him in the gut.

"Don't say such gross things."

His eyes were swimming in tears. "I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING WRONG!" He held his stomach. "You don't have to be so mean!!"

Lexi sighed, glad things were starting to settle down. Not only did she get to be with all her friends again, but you got to meet your soulmate. She knew how upset and angry it made you, but she knew you like the back of her hand, this was going to be a good thing, she was your BFF, after all. 

Uncrossing her arms and without much of a conscious mind, she peeked at your phone, and her heart sunk. "Y/n...."

"What." You barked.

Her voice sounded shaky, "You never hung up..." 

"What?" You turned to look at her, and the sight of her made you freeze. Her pupils were huge, "The phone..." she pointed at your phone in her hand.

The phone?

You walked over to her, and exchanged your own troubled stare once you realized what she was saying. Taking it from her, you inspected the screen, and your eyes were immediately drawn to the numbers going up form how long the call had been going for, and you exhaled. 

"Oh fuck me." 

x - x - x

You dropped your shoes by your bed and sat at the edge of your mattress.

What a lousy day.

You grabbed the water bottle that stood on your bedside drawer and twisted the cap off. Placing the tip of the bottle against your lips, you paused before sipping, and downed whatever was left.

How could you let today get so out of hand? 

You put the cap back on and threw the bottle at the other side of the room.

It didn't go far.

It all just happened so fast.

You nibbled on your nails.

Oscar had dropped you off a few minutes ago, and before you even set a foot through the door, everyone was already in your face pestering you about the party, and you ignored them all as you sped to your room.

As if you were going to tell them anything that happened.

You aren't even sure how you're going to deal with it. Imagine your parents? 

Yeah right. No thanks.

You closed your eyes and began unbuttoning the shirt you wore when your phone dinged. It was resting beside you, and you picked it up, bringing it closer to your face. 

It was a notification from twitter, and you don't know why but you felt disappointed.

Pressing your thumbprint on the home button, the screen shifted to the last thing you were on,

the phone app.

xxx-xxx-xxx - 48 minutes and 25 seconds. 

You frowned.

You clicked on edit, scrolling down to where it said, "block number", and stared at it for a while. 

Should you delete it or save it? 

_(Save it.)_

You scrolled back up and typed in his name along with an emoji, and saved the contact. There was no point running away from it now, he had your number too.

You glanced at your left arm. 

What's going to happen now?

_(Talk to him.)_

Looking at the time, it was 9:35, and you cursed yourself, you had to text him didn't you? 

But what exactly were you going to say? 

You clicked on his number and went to send him a message. Just keep things short, don't lead him on.

**You: Hey, sorry bout earlier, my friends get on my nerves. Hope I didn't scare you off, ha ha.**

How embarrassing. 

There was a response instantly. 

**Stretch: You're fine. No need to worry.**

Were you though? 

Well, keep that optimism up, you're going to need it.

You laid your back on the bed, staring at the reply box. You don't know how this will work out, and you're very anxious about it. Just a few days ago you were thinking how you were never going to meet your soulmate, and here were the two of you texting. You could always just leave him on seen, or, whats wrong with blocking him? You're not ready for this, you don't want this. It was easier to ignore him before, why can't you just go back to that? Nothing special happened today. 

Nothing special. 

Your fingers tapped quickly across the keyboard.

**You: I'm new to all this.**

Your heart started pounding, and you did your best to breathe, trying to clam yourself down.

Still, the more you push it away, the more it's just going to hit you in the face later. 

So, might as well keep the upper hand while you still had it.

**Stretch: That's okay. I'm sure you'll do great!**

Your lips puckered, what did that even mean?

"You'll do great?" You repeated. What an odd thing to say. 

You typed your last message for the night.

**You: Yeah well, i gotta go, so, night.**

You waited for him to reply before putting your phone on silent.

**Stretch: GOODNIGHT! :) SLEEP TIGHT!! DON'T LET THE BED BUGS BITE!!!**

A smile crept on your face. "What in the world..." You bit your tongue.

Okay, clearly, you have to respond to this one.

**You: They might have already.**

**Stretch: :O**

**Stretch: HOW HORRIBLE! WE NEED TO GET YOU A NEW BED NOW!!**

You laughed at his response, and at many after.

Why do people always say "goodnight" but never end up going to sleep?

Because you didn't fall asleep until 3 am.

And your body was going to feel that later down the road.

x - x - x

"How do you think I'm going to get along, without you when you're gone?"

It's been four days since the party, you would admit it was the most fun you had in a while, but you met your soulmate that day.

So it was a disaster.

"You took me for everything that I had, and kicked me out on my own." You were singing to yourself. You don't know when or why you began singing, but this song was stuck in your head for the past hour. So you got lost in thought and into the groove of it.

Stretch, right? Who names their kid stretch?

_"I think it's pretty clever."_

You cringed just thinking about the rest of that night. So you're going to try and not remember it. 

"Out of the doorway the bullets rip, to the sound of the beat." You were sitting at your desk, looking over sketches you had drawn over the years, tapping your pencil to the tempo of the song playing in your head. You were procrastinating, and as much as you hate wasting time, you couldn't help yourself but want to be lazy. 

Your classes were beginning to become more difficult, and you've been back in school for about, what? Four weeks? And you already wanted to call it quits?

You also feel like things are going to get way out of hand, and you weren't prepared for it. 

_(Just a hunch.)_

A bad habit of yours was putting school before your mental health, and you even had stopped doing things you loved, like drawing. You didn't have time for your hobbies anymore, and it was depressing.

The last thing you drew was about a year and a half ago. You decided to take a course during the winter session, and while you sat in the back of the class, something kept running in your mind.

The monster in your dreams.

You stared at that sketch now, of your supposed soulmate. You haven't had any dreams in a while, only nightmares, which were anxiety-based. Usually about zombies, or your teeth falling out, and going to school naked. You won't admit it, but you would rather it be their memories than the crap your brain came up.

That is, until today.

Waking up this morning was a pain in the ass, why? You woke up breathless, hot, and desperately wanting a shower. Your soul really put you to work last night, didn't they? You felt like you just ran a marathon, and forgot to shower and just knocked out the moment you got into bed. You felt gross. It's been a while since you've dreamed of him, but the scene that replayed in your head last night wasn't at all new. You've seen it before, and whether you cared or not, It's been like that for a while. You can't recall exactly when it changed or stopped, but you've only ever dreamed the same few memories over, and over. Why was that? What was so special that these specifically repeated? There was never anything different from what you can tell, but it's been weeks, and seeing his face for a change, felt good?

Now you got a face, a voice, and a name.

It's all coming together nicely, ain't it?

You stopped tapping, and retraced the outline of the skeleton. Making it darker, and eventually wanting to color it in.

You felt bad.

You hadn't tried to reach out to your soulmate after that all-nighter with him, and it made you feel guilty.

It seemed like the two of you were getting along.

Lexi also would text you occasionally, about not chickening out, but it's exactly what you did every time you typed out a message just to delete it after.

It wasn't like he was being any helpful, he could've always texted you first. Why'd it have to be you?

Dropping the lead pencil on the table, you grabbed at your blue highlighter, and uncapped it.

You didn't want to be mean, but you had no idea what to say to him. Besides, the past few days have been awful, your teachers are seriously not easy, and your math class sucks dick. The professors pretty great though. Who would've thought you'd be taking statistics? You had the lab for it later today, which lasted about four hours of you just sitting there not knowing what's going on and internally crying.

_(How long can you stand the heat?)_

You groaned. It was Thursday morning, and your class didn't start until 6:50 pm. What the heck were you going to do till then? Normally you would've asked Evan to hang out, but you were still mad and refusing to talk to him. Chemistry has been awkward, but only because he made it that way, and as much as you wanted to ignore Oscar as well, he had the stat class with you, and you desperately needed his help, so you kissed ass.

Your thoughts wandered back to your soulmate, what was going on through his mind right now? Did your sudden entrance in his life surprise him? Was he upset you hadn't gotten back to him? Would he understand that you were busy? Or would he think after finalizing that he was, in fact, a monster, you now wanted nothing to do with him?

Which, wasn't true.

You never wanted anything to do with him from the start.

You finished coloring in the parts you wanted, and stared at it for a while, with a very good question in mind, 

"Why did he always wear that damn hoodie?"

Your phone started to vibrate. Pulling it out of your pocket, you answered before checking who it was, "Yeah?"

Your moms voice yelled in your ear. "Y/n! I need you to do me a favor, it's really important!!"

Which translates into; you were going outside today. "Yes mama, with what?" She asked if you could go pick up an order of doughnuts she had purchased the day before for the family to try after dinner. It was a treat for everyone being on their best behavior, and you smiled. "Sure, I'll go get them. Send me the receipt." She did, and while she explained to you what to expect, you cringed.

It was a Monster bakery, why?

"Uh mama, why didn't you just get them from Krispy Kreme?" You put her on speaker as you stood up from your chair, and walked over to your closet. "It would've been way more convenient, and cheaper." As far as she knew, these were the best pastries in the city, and though they were expensive, it was worth it. You rolled your eyes. You literally could just have a banana, and you'll be satisfied. "Okay, and why do I have to go get them? Can't you and dad get them after work?" You really didn't want to be around monsters right now. 

"No! I want you to try one before the boys and your father devour them." Your late class, that's right. You won't be sticking around for dinner, and you're almost positive Scooters going to try and eat them all once he sees them. "Alright, I'm getting changed. I'll text you when I leave, and when I get there." You smacked your lips, already knowing you were going to be out of breath. "Bye, love you."

"I love you too!"

You hung up.

A monster bakery, huh?

You pulled out a hanger that held a heavy orange parka. 

Why did it have to be a monster bakery?

_(What's wrong with them?)_

Absolutely nothing.

I guess somewhere in the pit of your stomach, you feel a very unsure feeling, as if something could go wrong today, but, that's all in your head.

There was no way in hell anything was likely to happen.

You're just paranoid up to this point.

"Okay, Y/n. What are you wearing today?"

Let's just get this over with already.

x - x - x

You stepped out of your house, closing the door behind you as you looked down at your phone, testing the knob to make sure you hadn't forgotten to lock it.

You were wearing olive paper-bag shorts, an unzipped mustard hoodie to reveal your graphic black-tee with the word "content" written in small letters over your chest, and a botanic green dad hat.

A slight breeze touched your legs and you felt the goosebumps pop up all over your skin. "Jesus." You were checking how far the place was going to be, and you wanted to scream.

_(The walk will be good for you. You need the exercise.)_

"No kidding." After receiving the address from your mom, you followed as best as you could your phone's directions.

Turn here. Turn there. Go back around. Walk in a circle. Make another left. Go right. Jump up and down. Make a u-turn.

See the dis on google maps? 

Unbelievable.

The walk was meant to take an hour, but you're out of shape ass kept stopping.

Did your mom seriously think you could make it to a place in an hour???

Why was it so far away!!

Once you did finally make it, you were a sweating mess. How could you be cold, and sweat at the same time?

You pushed open the entrance, hearing a tiny bell go off. Looking up at it, you failed to notice that the tiny spiders on the ceiling, weren't decorations, but were actually moving. You were just too blind or stupid to tell.

Halloween decor? We're about to be in March.

"Welcome!" You snapped your gaze at the monster at the register.

HOLY SHIT.

It was an anthropomorphic Spider.

"How may I help you?"

You looked around, making sure she was talking to you, and by god she was. Forcing your legs to move forward, you got closer to the counter. This is technically your first time talking to a monster, and it just had to be a freaking spider lady! Her skin was a bluish-purple with short black hair tied into pigtails with pink ribbons. You were probably staring for too long because she cleared her throat, refusing to repeat herself. You felt embarrassed. "Uh sorry," You leaned casually, trying your best to look relaxed. "I'm here to pick up some, doughnuts?"

Smooth.

"Do you have the receipt?"

You nodded, pulling out your phone with the picture already on screen the moment you unlocked it. When you showed it to her, she smiled, and her six arms went to work.

You watched as she retrieved a pink box from behind her with one hand, pulling a purple bag from a container by the register with another, and with her third and fourth arm she pinched the unsealed end of it with her thumb and forefinger to pull it apart and open it, tossing the box in the bag and closing it with a pink thick ribbon. You were in awe.

You wished you had multiple arms.

You'd be like Sheeva, just, less aggressive and with more clothes on. 

This spider also had six arms, not four. 

Four's enough.

You then questioned, if this spider were to bite you, would you mutate, or receive some type of superpower? Or just die from poison?

_(Most likely.)_

You weren't going to take any chances finding out which one.

"Here you go, sweetie. Enjoy." You took the bag in both hands, it was pretty heavy. "You too." You said without much thought. Turning away from her, you remembered you had to walk back.

Damn, you aren't ready to go back out there.

You walked over to an empty table, and placed the bag down gently in the center. Maybe you should rest for a bit, or at least drink something to re-hydrate yourself. 

Going back to the counter you looked up at the menu.

You whistled.

Jesus, would you have to pay for water here?

"Back already?" She was teasing you, and you laughed awkwardly. Rubbing the back of your neck, you tried to calm down the heat that rose on your back. "Yeah, I'm pretty thirsty. What do you recommend to a first timer?"

A tiny spider slowly came down, and landed on your shoulder. The arachnid barely weighed anything, but it's presence right beside you felt massive. You refused to look at it, acting like it wasn't there. Maybe it'll go away if it noticed you didn't pay attention to it? It wasn't doing any harm, yet, so don't react. Don't accidentally slap the thing off. Just keep smiling. 

Muffet smirked and the little guy grew impatient, shoving something into your cheek. The sudden stab had you jump, and you raised your hands up in peace. The spider's eyes widen when it saw it had startled you, and rubbed it's face with it's two other arms, clearly annoyed. You watched it for a second and realized what it was it was offering you, and took what looked like to be a business card from it. "O-oh.....thank you?" You read what was on it.

"Spider tea?" Of course. How fitting.

You had a disgusted expression on your face. "What's in it?" Muffet furrowed her brow at you. You felt the color leave your face. "I-I mean...like, what's it taste like?" Did you offend her? Obviously she wouldn't just serve out right toxins to humans. Why'd you have to go and say it like that??

"Perhaps you should just give it a try, and see." That wasn't even a question, was it? She was requesting you to try it. Oh, what the hell.

Nodding, you ordered one. Even though you wanted water, but your dads always bugging you to drink tea. So, here's to you dad!

You took out the cash from your wallet, and handed it to her. She put it in the register as the entrance opened again, hearing the bell alerted you. "You can go sit for now darling, it'll be brought to you in a moment."

Why are you so on edge today?

You listened, and sat at the table you left your moms treats at. It was a cute little shop, and from the looks of it, really popular. Nearly all the tables were filled. "Wow." You were actually surprised to see humans eating there as well. The people living closer in the city probably interacted with monsters all the time. 

Your entire right leg started to bounce.

Did you have breakfast this morning? You were probably hungry, or dehydrated. Where's that tea?? You should've got water. You would've been drinking it already. Should you eat your doughnut? But that would mean undoing the bag, and the bow looked so aesthetically pleasing. You don't want to ruin it. 

You pulled on the collar of your shirt, and readjusted it. Your body felt agitated. 

What's the matter with you? Relax.

You also still had the card in your fingers, and with that in mind you looked at your shoulder, but the little spider was gone. You sighed in relief. Flipping the card over, there were more words to read.

"Come eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!" What?

Your tea was placed in front of you, and you gave the spider that brought it to you a thank you. Imagine that, having spiders help you around. Kinda horrifying. You couldn't sleep if you knew there was one hiding somewhere in your room. You picked up the tiny white mug, and brought it to your lips.

Finally.

Sipping a bit, you let the taste settle on your tongue for a moment.

It wasn't....awful?

All tea tastes the same to you really. You were never a big fan, but it is healthy for you, right?

You drank the rest of it.

Wait!

"Of spiders?", you thought.

Does she use spiders as an ingredient!

You wanted to spit it out, but to avoid making a scene, you swallowed harshly.

Oh man, don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it.

Not like you could just go ask her anyway if your suspicions were correct. 

_(They're correct)_

You looked at the box of doughnuts. "No..."

Spider doughnuts? 

You gulped and shrugged it off as best you could.

You pulled out your phone and went to message your mom. You asked if she could arrange an Uber for you to get back home, and she texted you saying yes, but to let her know when you needed it exactly so she can order it.

Thankful for that, you placed the phone on the table, and relaxed your back into the chair.

You were slouching, but who cares, you had walked so many miles, and felt incredibly drained.

The thought of consuming spiders doesn't help either. 

Now the decor makes sense.

_(But it's not decor, is it?)_

You closed your eyes to stop looking up at the ceiling, and your leg slowly calmed down.

People eat bugs all the time though.

Like crickets, and worms. 

But they were usually fried...

Oh dear god.

What a horrible image to plant in your head. 

You felt something trying to crawl up your throat, and your eyes rolled to the back of your head. 

Looks like you didn't stop thinking about it,

Because you fainted.

x - x - x

vrrr. vrrr.

Your phone vibrating awoke you, and as you lazily opened your eyes, reality came back to you, and you jolted upright, wincing.

YOU FELL ASLEEP AT THE BAKERY!?

Applying light pressure to your neck, you felt a horrible pain from having passed out in such a uncomfortable position. Your neck had rested on the top rail of the chair you sat on, and you wanted to cry for being so stupid. 

You checked your phone.

7 missed calls and 28 messages.

WHAT THE HELL!

They were all from your mom. You had fallen asleep, and she mistook it as you being kidnapped since you never got back to her about the Uber.

Quickly sending her a "you were fine, just fell asleep, i guess?" message, you tossed a look at the time. It was 1:30. Another notification popped up from mom, and you read, "Fell asleep?! Where?? Don't tell me at the bakery! Y/n, how irresponsible." You told her to relax and stood up to leave. Turning your upper body to the side, you aimed to crack your back. Stretching always felt good after a nap.

That is, if you didn't feel disoriented. Sometimes you'd wake from a nap feeling like you just traveled time, or something.

And right now was one of those times. 

You don't actually recall falling asleep?

Spotting Muffet you noticed she was busy at another table. Grabbing your belongings, you waited for her step away from them, so you could apologize to her for napping.

When she turned away from them your eyes met, and she smiled warmly. Walking over to you as she crossed her arms. "Enjoy the rest?"

You smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, you should have woken me up. I hope i wasn't much of a bother."

You bet you looked horrendous.

You're certain your phone was probably really annoying too.

She disagreed. "Not at all sweetie, you looked absolutely precious sleeping. I didn't want to wake you." You blushed. Precious? Not the word you used to describe it. "Besides, it seems like you needed it." The blush grew darker.

That makes more sense.

After having a quick conversation, you said your goodbye, and expressed to her you would definitely be coming back soon, and with some very cool people.

To avoid being alone here again, but! She was real sweet, for a spider. You didn't want to let your fear get in the way of that. In fact, how did that saying go?

Spiders were more scared of you than you were to them?

You hoped you weren't making a mistake by telling her you were going to come back, because now you had to keep your word, regardless if you wanted to or not. 

God! You've been really impulsive lately, haven't you? 

Let's just pray you don't get yourself into something way worse.

She pinched your cheek and went back to work.

Your body froze.

You either upset her or she thought you were adorable. Whatever it was, she touched you, and you didn't mind it one bit. 

You stepped out form the bakery, and subconsciously turned to look at your right side. It was a quick second, one you didn't even realize, but like a flash of lightning, your mind picked up on it, and so did your soul.

You sat at a bench a few steps down, and called your mom.

"Hello."

You opened your mouth to say hi back when you noticed a red glow coming from your wrist.

"Hello, y/n?"

Your mouth still hung open as you watched the faint glow becoming more vibrant.

What the-

"Y/n?"

You looked closely at it, and it slowly started to take form.

"Y/N!"

You couldn't hear anything over how loud your heart was beating.

This was seriously not happening.

"Ma, I'm going to have to call you back." You hung up.

What were the odds?

"He's here?" You thought.

This can't be real.

But there it was, tied around your wrist, the red thread of fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? Cause I'm excited! 
> 
> This ending is by far my most favorite. What do you guys think? Got any idea on who might be at the end of the string?
> 
> (I thoroughly enjoy your comments, please leave them.)


	5. Freaking Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You follow the string, yep, you do, but not because you want to.

Okay. This is fine. You're fine. Everything is fine.

No need to worry.

There's just this ghostly type of string tied around your wrist, warning you that your soulmate's in the area.

That's okay.

It's not like it's the end of the world or anything. 

It's just your soulmate. 

"I'm not freaking out." You tried to sound confident, but there was doubt written all over your face.

_(Sure seems that way.)_

You glanced around to see if anyone was looking, but no one was paying attention to you. Squinting your eyes to focus back on the thread, you tested to see if it was the real deal, or if it was just your mind playing games with you, but the thread's light only got brighter the more you stared at it, casting a red gleam over your body, and you turned away. The light dimming back into it's original glow.

Oh god,

it's your soulmate!

Your left eye twitched. "It's not in my head..." You closed your eyes shut and bit down on your teeth.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!

_(This could be a good thing.)_

This is definitely not a good thing!

You opened your eyes, glaring at it, as your cheeks flushed lightly. "This can't be real..." You went to touch it with your left hand but hesitated. Drawing your hand back cautiously, you instead stroked your fingers through your bangs, pushing them back to keep them out of your face for a moment, as you really focused in on what was right in front of you. "There's no way it can be."

This has to be some sort of prank, or you were drugged in that tea you drank and started hallucinating.

It didn't make sense otherwise.

The timing of it all, the probability of the both of you being in the exact same place at the exact same time.

That, can't be how fate works...

Or maybe it is, who knows, the Fates inflicted all sorts of evil hardships onto those who lived on earth.

This just proves your point about the universe hating you. 

Why you though?

Everything was happening all of a sudden, and all at once too.

"Why?" You asked. 

How did this shit come about?

_(You need to relax.)_

The red thread of fate was common, and believe it or not, the most favored one. It symbolizes marriage and good fortune, that when the souls of two individuals unite for the first time, the exposure of the red thread proves their connection to be unbreakable, that Destiny itself bounded them, and not even Atropos can split them apart.

"I gotta get out of this..." You felt your heartbeat thumping underneath the knot of the bow, quickening in pace the more you tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of acknowledging your pulse. You had to calm down, there's no point in you panicking, you're in control here, you knew it's goal was to get you to follow it, and you already denied the thought of doing so. It didn't matter how far he was, or how close, as long as you stayed still and didn't bother moving, nothing was going to happen. 

Of course, unless he's already realized it, and finds you instead. 

"Dammit..." What are you going to do? You knew the punishment for going against fate. Well, all you knew was that there was indeed a punishment, but from all the lovey-dovey stories you read and were told, none of them ever experienced anything remotely intense because they never refused, so to tell the truth, you don't know what you're getting yourself into, and that discouraged you.

This is what torture is.

"I'm not freaking out." You said again. 

You were though.

You were too scared to move.

Too scared to breathe or think.

_(Y/n, stop it.)_

You were holding your breath now, and your eyes were shut close. 

You were doing this to yourself unintentionally, and though it wasn't rare when you'd find yourself being conscious of the situation and did your best to pull yourself out of it, in this case, perhaps if the string feels it's attached to a lifeless body, it'll cease to exist.

_(Y/n.)_

What could be worse, meeting your soulmate, or facing whatever waited for you if you didn't? 

Lexi may have shared with you what she experienced, leaving you to guess that this is what she probably saw, and how she could have possibly felt, but there was a difference, she was fully prepared for it. She accepted that fate for herself, and she was okay with that. 

You aren't prepared for this. 

And you're okay with that. 

The world should just accept it.

You're going to Ignore it.

That's the plan.

You aren't ready, it sucks, but the wicked entity that's hoping you give it a show, is going to be extremely disappointed.

You aren't meeting him today, and that's final.

_(Y/n...)_

You opened your eyes slowly, and swallowed the saliva that was piling up in your mouth, letting out within a rough exhale. "I'm sorry."

It's been what, just a few days since the two of you met? 

You've barely even spoken with him, how is it possible that he's now here with you?

"Holy hell..." Your heart hasn't stopped racing. "Here with you", you repeated. He's here with you.

Dread quickly overwhelmed you as you turned your head both sides, having a sudden sense of being watched, but no one was there.

You chuckled, feeling uneasy. "What a fucking joke." 

You couldn't wrap your head around the thought of him being by you. It didn't seem real.

"If this is your way to amuse me," You looked up at the sky, licking your dry lips before finishing your sentence. "You better have a good fucking punchline." 

You were sick and tired of this, the argument around soulmates is that in nature; the complexity, order, purposefulness, and functionality of living organisms; can only be explained, understood, and fulfilled by the existence of a “soulmate”.

What nonsense.

No one ever talks about the whole ordeal of having one though, and you weren't going to let yourself fall victim to it again.

No one's here to push you or tell you you're in the wrong.

You go at your own pace, you don't need to follow the herd.

You lowered your gaze from the clouds to look at the individuals around you, watching as humans and monsters went about their day, unknowing to what you were going through, and you were envious of it.

Sighing to yourself, you weighed your options. "Can i just forget about this and go home?" 

Would the thread even let you walk off? Does it go away? Will it go away?? How far could it stretch out to? Oh geez, what if you get home and it's still there?? He could follow it and see where you live?! 

Feeling uncomfortable, you slid your phone into your hoodies pocket, and zipped it up after. 

Guess going home is out of the question.

Jesus, you felt both anxious and filled with adrenaline.

You wanted to run, but unsure if whether to run far from it, or towards it.

_(You can't fight this feeling.)_

"I could try." You didn't know what he would be like once you faced him. You didn't know how he would react, or what he could possibly do, or say? "How could Lexi just walk up to him? That easily?" You looked back at the thread, and its red hue got brighter.

You furrowed your brows in anger. "That's what it wants."

The hardest part of it all was being expected by YOU.

_(Just let it happen.)_

"I'm not going to bother...."

This was a low blow, even for Destiny. 

"It's not gonna happen..." You were so sure of yourself.

But once the red thread of fate has shown itself, it simply can't be disregarded.

The thread tightened around your wrist, and you flinched in pain. 

"Oww!" You hunched over. "What the hell..."

_(Y/n, you're fighting it.)_

You heard a crunching type of sound and you gagged. You could feel your forearm fracturing, scraping together, and you panicked. IS THIS THE PUNISHMENT?! WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT THE FUCK!! FUCK THAT!! You couldn't lose your arm over this! The thread seemed like it was aiming to break your wrist. "Stop..." You whined. The intense pain shot up to your elbow, and you lost whatever feeling you had left in your fingers. "Stop it..."

_(Don't fight it.)_

You've been refusing to touch the thread, but you couldn't let this go on. "I have to," You needed to rip it off you somehow. "It's hurting me..."

_(Y/n...)_

"Fuck! Get off!" You used your left hand to grasp at it to pull it loose, but a very warm feeling spread throughout your body the moment you touched it. 

It felt euphoric. 

Time had froze, and the pain vanished.

"What did you do?" You asked yourself. 

The thread can be stretched, tangled, but never snapped.

Oh god, what did you do? 

The world seemed quiet in those little seconds, as if you were alone, waiting for something else to happen, but the pain didn't return. "Is it over?" 

You messed up.

The thread yanked you up abruptly. "Fuck!" It stood you up, and you buckled your knees, trying to drop yourself to the floor, but your right arm stayed awkwardly raised in the air, and your body hung off it, refusing to comply. 

It didn't like that. 

You were now it's puppet, and as a puppeteer, it was going to make you dance!

It pulled you away from the bench, and forced you to use your legs to walk.

To avoid looking foolish you took the few steps it wanted you to take, and were able to bring down your arm. It looked a bit more natural and not as if you were being controlled, but still a little awkward. 

You prayed no one saw that. 

Noticing you were now in the center of the sidewalk, you looked up at the red thread flowing beautifully out in front of you, unbothered by the people that walked through or close by it. It is pretty amazing that no one could see this.

This is truly magical. 

But it wasn't for you.

You felt a tiny shove, and took a step forward. 

_(You're not freaking out,)_ It can feel your emotions...it acts on your emotions. _(But you are afraid.)_

It's trying to take you somewhere.

Trying to take you to him...

You grinned. Thinking you may have just found out the solution to your problems. 

No!

You're not afraid!

You're still in control!

"It's over!" You screamed in your head. Placing your left hand firmly on your right wrist to try and halt the pull when it returned, you bent your knees and arched your back, trying to hold your stance, but it's strength overpowered you. You had angered it. 

Your grin fell and you winced. There was a sharp pain in your shoulder. 

Your arm was pulled from you, and you fought back. Hunching over, you brought your chest to your wrist, and whispered into the thread. "I don't want this..."

When the red string bracelet breaks or falls off. It can be because of one of two things, either the soulmate has passed, or it no longer could hold anymore.

"This isn't fair..."

The thread loosened.

It deflects all the negative by absorbing all it's energies and filtering it, and naturally, burns out.

"Fuck off..." Whatever was pulling you before had stopped, and as you looked back down at the thread for some reassurance that it perhaps possibly gave up, you watched as the thread untangled itself, sliding off your wrist.

Your eyes widened in shock.

Holy shit, it came off, you did it.

This is what you wanted, but seeing it happen...

You really did it.

You watched it fall, slowly about to hit the ground, 

-when your heart burned.

You clutched at your chest.

Your heart beat was thumbing in a ridiculously fast rhythm, and your throat started to close. 

Letting go of the wad of shirt you had in your grip, your fingers tapped up to your neck to feel why, and you were again, pulled forward harshly.

The thread had wrapped itself around your throat, and you tripped on your toes, falling to your knees.

The thread felt thicker, almost like rope, and you felt horrified.

The thread continued to pull you, but more forcefully, and your knees skid on the pavement.

Holy shit, you were going to be bleeding.

You brought one knee up, and your eyes began filling with tears.

How did no one see this??

"Excuse me?" You looked up at the voice, tears in your eyes. "Are you alright? Do you need a hand?" It was a man, looking at you worriedly, and you turned red. Opening your mouth to speak, the thread felt tighter as you took breaths. "N-no, no. I'm okay. Just," You shook your head, and smiled. "Going through it, i guess?" He cleared his throat, and frowned, before walking away. 

How embarrassing.

People WERE staring at you. 

Trying to get back on your feet, you hopped up, and balanced yourself.

You felt everyone's eyes on you. 

But in reality not that many people cared, they just assumed you were a crackhead. 

Glancing down at your knees, you felt humiliated. They were scarped, and bleeding, and of course you wore shorts today. 

"Great..." That's when you remembered. 

Both hands went up to your neck and you touched the thread. Feeling it over, you felt little pricks, and realized it was no longer red, but green, and it wasn't a thread no more, it was more like a thick vine, with sharp thorns. 

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! 

WHAT NOW?!

It still glowed, and floated above the ground, but this was the punishment. 

YOUR punishment. 

"This looks like hell." Your knees ached, and you were being choked softly, but there was nothing else to do.

You weren't in control. 

You lost. 

Accepting defeat, you gave in and followed it, walking with your head hung low. 

"Fuck you universe..." Usually, when soulmates first meet, they are irresistibly drawn to one another, and because of this, it isn't rare to undergo a very strong sense of awareness that they may have known each other from before.

A door opened in front of you, and you stopped to not bump into who was coming out, but you heard that familiar ring.

You were back at Muffet's.

It had stopped you in front of the bakery. 

Why?

OH CRAP THE DOUGHNUTS!!

You snapped your head up and instantly were face to face with a skeleton. 

Something inside of you recognizes them way before your mind can fully comprehend it. Your rational mind wants to find an explanation for it, but your soul already knows...

"Fuck." You accidentally let out.

...it's because it has found it's other half.

x - x - x

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to turn out entirely different, but i like what i did with it.
> 
> I am SO sorry i disappeared. Classes and such, also there's this thing called animal crossing....yeah, it's addicting.
> 
> (If you guys got animal crossing new horizons, hit me up tho!)
> 
> There is more coming, i just wanted to give you guys a taste. The rest of chapter five will be updated.


End file.
